House of Hades
by NotsoSugarQueen
Summary: Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus. The remaining five, plus Nico, are setting sail for Greece, determined to find the Doors of Death and close them in time. But time is ticking, and the final battle draws near, as does the ever looming threat of Gaea awakening and ending Western Civilization. This quest will test everything these eight demigods have ever known. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**House of Hades-**

One- Annabeth PoV

We were falling.

The air whipped through my hair so harshly I thought it was going to rip my curls off my head. I tried to scream, but my voice was sucked away, echoing somewhere far above. My body was numb and I couldn't feel anything but the painful tug of spider silk around my ankle and the faint sensation of Percy's hand grasping mine in an iron grip. For not the first time, I was really glad he was wicked strong. I didn't want to know what would happen if he let go.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of happy things. Well for one, I'd tricked Arachne and retrieved the Athena Parthenos, which countless children of Athena had failed to do, so kudos to me and all that, and the rest of the seven were on their way to Greece to fight, along with Nico, who seemed to have a vague idea of what we were supposed to be doing. Before Percy and I had gone over the edge, the two of them had agreed to something. Something about us meeting them on the other side. My brain was fuzzy and blurred, my thoughts sluggish and numb.

Far in the distance I could make out a dim light, that seemed to change colors, shifting from hellish red, sickly green and dark ebony. I swallowed as I once again inhaled the stench of evil that was so strong, I probably could've thrown up, if I could've opened my mouth.

I worried about the impact. We must've been falling for what seemed like forever, shifting in and out of consciousness, and there was no way to tell how long it would be until we hit the rock bottom. Which, if you catch my drift, didn't sound to appealing to me. I briefly recalled reading something somewhere in the Illiad… or maybe it was the Aeneid, that it takes nine days to fall from Olympus to the earth, and nine more to fall to the bottom of Tartarus. I wondered how far we were into the fall. . I could only imagine what state we'd be left in after going _splat_. I wasn't looking forward to being a pancake.

My thoughts fuzzed up, like an old TV that was static, and I shifted into a dream that made no sense. People I'd known throughout my life floated through my head, and situations that I'd had nightmares about kept replaying. The time that Luke had begged me to run away with him, and I'd slammed the door in his face out of fear of being betrayed a second time. When Percy had disappeared for two weeks and I'd been terrified, believing that he'd died in the volcanic eruption, when I'd cry myself to sleep at night because I thought he was gone. The time that my mom had visited me as Minerva and talked like she had gone cuckoo on the cocoa puffs. Arachne, Mother of Spiders, taunting me, her voice sickly sweet.

_You will die, daughter of Athena. You may have tricked me and recovered your mother's statue, but the Mistress will find you. You will watch as your beloved's blood is spilled across the ancient stones, and you will follow, awakening her from her slumber. It isn't over yet._

I let out a silent scream and blacked out.

**Did you like it? This is my first fanfiction, so please review, but refrain from completely torching it. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, because I want to get better. Thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: (my apologies, I forgot to write one for my first chapter) Sadly, I don't own PJO, or any of the characters. All rights go to the amazing author, Rick Riordan.**

Two: Nico PoV

I felt sick. Which I figured wasn't that unusual since I'd been trapped in a little jar, living off of freaking pomegranate seeds for the past seven days. When I looked back on it, I could barely remember it. The moments of torment just blended together.

The Argo II was sailing smoothly towards Greece, but I was afraid of what we would face when we got there. Without Percy and Annabeth, there seemed to be this big gap. They were two people that I trusted the most, the two people I knew I could always rely on. And now I knew that they were relying on me too. The little boy that had played with Mythomagic cards a few years ago.

Everyone was sour, grieving in their own way. Piper was sitting near the prow, her eyes red and puffy, looking in vain at her dagger, Katropis, like she was searching for answers. She slammed it down on deck angrily and buried her face in her hands. For a daughter of Aphrodite, she was pretty kick ass, I had to admit. She wore no make-up, which definitely lifted the fear factor that I had for most Aphrodite chicks, (they were actually pretty scary when it came to them making love matches and giving makeovers), and she didn't really seem to care about what she looked like. I knew Jason and her had to have something going on, even if it wasn't official yet. It reminded me of Percy and Annabeth before they'd gotten together. Always flirting with each other and completely oblivious that they liked one another, while the rest of us were in the background, facepalming and thinking: _Duh! You obviously like each other, so get together already!_

Jason was Roman, and he'd been praetor when I'd originally discovered Camp Jupiter. He definitely looked the part, all Golden Boy and everything. I felt bad for him, to be honest. Everyone always looked at Big Three kids like they were a big deal. Children of Zeus and Poseidon had high standards to reach. That's why it was easier being a son of Hades. No one expected you to be social or an amazing fighter. Being the Goth kid that walked the fine line between life and death and controlled skeleton armies was way simpler. No one expected you to save the day. And they didn't ask you questions either. It was the creepy factor. Fine by me. I did not want girls swarming me like they did Jason or Percy when we were in public just because of the way I looked. It kept away the people not worth knowing.

Hazel was sleeping, Frank was brooding by the mast while Jason paced around. Leo was in the control room, occupying himself with Archimedes' spheres, trying to figure them out, while Coach Hedge was in his room watching martial arts reruns, chomping away on tin cans. I sighed and fingered my skull ring, laying down and staring at the sky. Sometimes I wondered why it had to be us. Why the Fates had decided that I had to be here right now, stressing out over how the hell I was going to find and close the Doors, while there were regular old mortals in the world that were completely oblivious to the fact that the world could possibly be ending in a few days, and that a couple of teenagers with godly powers were responsible for stopping it. But no pressure.

_Nico, everything is going to be fine, _Bianca's voice told me soothingly. Sometimes, even though I tried not to think about her too much, I thought about how things would've been if I hadn't been stuck in the Lotus Casino for fifty years or so, like some disposable time capsule. If my mom hadn't been killed by Zeus, if the first Great Prophecy had never happened. I'd learned a long time ago that it wasn't smart to focus on the past and think about all the what ifs. Over analyzing everything just made you angrier. And for a child of Hades, that was not a good thing.

_Don't worry about it. It's going to work out. Percy and Annabeth will find the doors. They saved us back at Westover Hall. Together, they can do anything. Just relax,_ Bianca spoke in my head. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Of course, it's practically a rule that a demigod can't have a good night's sleep. You have to have some prophetic dream that relates to your most likely horrible situation and usually these dreams give you nothing but bad news.

It was completely dark around me, and the stink of evil pierced my nose. Immediately I knew where I was, and I started to have an anxiety attack. Tartarus was one of the worst things I'd ever experienced. It messed with your mind, made you think up was down and right was wrong, screwing with your head and making you hallucinate. I'm positive that I'll remain mentally scarred for the rest of my life. The whole time I was down there I was thinking that I was lost in the Labyrinth, and Bianca was just ahead of me, crying for help, that I was a horrible person, that Minos was haunting me, and that I was being followed by myself. Everyone has a worst fear. And as silly as it seems, I'm afraid of myself. I'm afraid of the darkness and death inside of me. I don't want to be consumed by it, spending the rest of my life bitter and hateful.

I blinked and Percy and Annabeth were there, unharmed except for Annabeth's already broken ankle, a strand of spider silk still twined around it. They were unconscious, their hands entwined fiercely like a lifeline. All around them was barren wasteland of nothing, just blackness and dust and a strong sense of someone watching. Tartarus didn't look much, but that didn't mean it could turn you insane with a whisper in your ear. I heard a sick laugh that made my bones vibrate from somewhere deep within the earth.

_They're fine now, little hero, but their blood shall be spilled upon the ancient stones soon enough. I will wake and Son of Hades, there is nothing you can do. Your worst nightmares will be a reality. _

I jerked awake, cold sweat beading on my forehead, my heart pounding. Gaea's words echoed through my head. I swallowed; my mouth was as dry as sandpaper. I sat up.

It was just beginning to be dawn, Apollo was probably starting his journey across the sky, as per usual, and the horizon was painted gold and pink, and the turquoise blue water sparkled somewhere far below us.

Leo emerged from the control room, clearly the only one awake. His black hair was sticking up funny, and his clothes were dirty. A Wii remote was in his back pocket, and he was eating a breakfast sandwich.

"Morning, Mr. Death Breath," he said cheerfully, but I could tell it was kind of forced. I stood up and blinked a few times.

"Good to see you too, Repair Boy. How far are we from Epirus?"

"We're about halfway between it and Rome. Which brings me to ask the million dollar question. What are we going to do when we get there? You didn't exactly elaborate on anything after Percy and Annabeth…" he trailed off questioningly.

"The Doors of Death are located in Epirus, inside a temple dedicated to my father," I explained. "The House of Hades. In ancient times, it is said that people were sent there to die."

"Lovely. Just like my dream vacation," Leo said sarcastically.

"Yeah, but it's gonna be more complicated than that, I can guarantee it," I told him. "Nothing is ever simple. Everything always has a million different angles or outcomes. I mean, it's a double seal, which is what Percy and Annabeth are going to do. They're going to meet us on the other side if everything goes as planned, so we can shut the doors. But it's not like the Doors are just unguarded. There's going to be something there waiting for us. I just don't know what." I said, slamming my fist on the railing angrily.

"Take a chill pill, gods. No need to go all huffy with me. I get it. No need to go into your whole life story," Leo assured me, sighing.

I glared at him.

"Hey, we all feel guilty about Percy and Annabeth, man. It's not your fault. We could've never seen that coming. And by the time we realized it was happening, it was too late. All we can do is meet them at the Doors in time. We need to give ourselves the best chance," he continued, for once his voice lacking humor.

"Yeah," I said, sighing. "I guess we do."

**So don't worry, there will be more action up ahead, I just wanted to set the scene for both sides of the story first. I wanted to do it from Nico's PoV because I think he's a really interesting character, and it's never been done by Rick Riordan before. Did you like it? This is my first fanfiction, so please review, but refrain from completely torching it. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, because I want to get better. Thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	3. Chapter 3

Two: Annabeth PoV

I awoke to silence.

The air was cold and dark, and with a shiver I remembered everything. The statue. Arachne. Falling, falling...

_Oh my gods, Percy…_ I swear I had a heart palpitation for a second, frantically patting the ground around me before I realized he was right beside me, still holding my hand. And then it hit me. There was ground. We weren't falling anymore.

So this was Tartarus.

I'd always imagined it to be some sort of hunting grounds for recuperating monsters. But everything around me was barren wasteland, dark and dusty, with the occasional skeletal tree. Just endless nothingness. I swallowed and tapped Percy's shoulder. I could feel the faint rise and fall of his chest, which comforted me somewhat. At least we were both alive. For now, that is.

I tapped him again before shaking him gently. "Percy," I whispered urgently. "Seaweed Brain, wake up!"

He stirred, mumbling something before his eyelids fluttered open. "Annabeth?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. I attacked him in a hug, squeezing him tightly.

"Annabeth," he repeated, sounding more awake now. "Oh my gods, are you okay? When did we hit the bottom?"

"I don't know. I think we were both unconscious when it happened. And yeah, I'm fine. No broken bones, nothing. Are you?"

"I think I'm good," he reassured me. "I might have a bruise on my backside for the rest of my life, but I'll survive." He drew back from the hug, looking at me with those sea green eyes that made my heart melt. "So now we have to find the Doors. Shouldn't be that hard right?"

I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but this was by far the worst situation I'd ever been in. It's not like I'd planned it like this. Tartarus wasn't my dream destination or anything. And I had not idea where the Doors were.

"Yeah, about that, what was it that you and Nico agreed on, exactly?" I asked.

"Well after we rescued him from the jar and killed the twin giants, he told me and Jason about the Doors. They have a double seal, and can only be closed if there's someone on each side. We didn't plan to fall into Tartarus, but when you were hanging over the edge, I didn't want to loose you again. And I promised Nico we'd meet him there, to close the Doors," he explained, blushing a little bit. I had to admit, it was cute.

"Well, I've spent my whole life doing the impossible, and I'm not about to stop now," I said, standing up and brushing off my jeans.

Percy smiled and stood up beside me, taking out Riptide and uncapping it, the Celestial bronze casting a golden glow everywhere. I checked my sheath for my knife, only to find it gone.

"Shit…" I muttered.

"What?" Percy asked immediately, sounding worried.

"I lost my knife. How could I be so stupid? I must've let it go when I fell," I deadpanned, running my hands through my hair. We were stuck in Tartarus, and I didn't even have a weapon. Great.

"It doesn't matter. We'll be fine," he assured me, grabbing my hand. We began walking, in what direction, I had no clue. I was about to say something when my vision blurred for a second, and suddenly I could hear footsteps approaching.

"Percy, something's coming!" I whispered, inhaling sharply. I could hear them, slowly drawing closer.

"Annabeth, nothing's there. It's completely quiet," Percy said, his eyebrows scrunched together in his adorable concerned face.

"Don't you hear it?" I said, swallowing my fear. A clicking sound filled my ears, and a voice spoke from the darkness, sickly sweet.

"You can't hide, Daughter of Athena. I'm coming for you," it rasped, laughing.

I gasped and started to hyperventilate. It was _her._ Again.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" Percy said urgently, grabbing my arm.

"Percy, it's her! She told me she'd come back to get me and she's here!" I whispered, clutching his hand even tighter.

"Annabeth, no one's here, it's fine," he informed me. "Maybe we should sit down for a little while."

"No! We can't wait here, we have to run! Come on!" I shrieked, trying to stay calm as I tugged his hand, trying to run away from the voice. Eight pairs of pale white eyes loomed out of the darkness nearby and I screamed.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried, drawing his sword, shining a light towards the eyes, exstinguishing them for a second. When he waved it away, the eyes were gone, and the feeling of dread in my stomach had ceased.

"Oh gods…" I groaned, before leaning over to throw up. I was dizzy and my sight was fuzzy, my world spinning. I started to fall, and probably would've hit my head if Percy hadn't caught me.

"What the hell just happened?" Percy demanded, sounding scared.

"It's Tartarus," I answered quietly, the taste of vomit still lingering in my mouth. "It's making me think things. I thought Arachne was here. She was talking to me."

"Oh. Well, you had me seriously scared there. I don't want that to happen again. You sounded terrified," he said softly, giving me a look before looking away again. "So that's what Nico meant about it being horrible."

"I have a feeling we're gonna have to get used to it, Seaweed Brain," I said softly. He wrapped his arms around me and drew my close, almost crushing me to his chest protectively, before tilting my chin up and kissing me gently, our lips brushing against one another. Even in the deepest, darkest place on earth, he smelled like a fresh sea breeze.

"I don't care what get's in our way," he told me defiantly. "We're going to get through this. Together."

"Together," I echoed, hoping that it was a promise that wouldn't ever be broken.

**So that was the third chapter. I was trying to come up with hallucination situations for the next few chapters, but I was having a hard time. And no worries, there will be chapters from other characters PoVs. The next chapter will be sort of unexpected, I think. But if you have some ideas for hallucinations, just post them in a review and I'll try my best to include a few. Please R&R, I love constructive criticism and I want to make this story as good as possible! Thanks so much for reading,**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan, who I am most definitely NOT.**

Four: Reyna PoV

I drummed my fingers on the table, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at Octavian as he explained his supposed genius battle plan. Which, if you asked me, wasn't really that great. Storming through the boundaries wasn't using everything we had to the advantage, like he said. The smartest thing to do would be to split up and ambush the camp from all sides.

But, of course, I wasn't going to say that. I was trying to postpone the attack as long as possible. Octavian was a poseur who wanted power, and attacking the Greeks was the last thing we needed. To win the war against Gaea, we needed every demigod we had. And killing off half of the potential forces wasn't exactly going to help our chances, which were already pretty slim.

I sighed and stood up, brushing off my jeans and shooting a glare at Octavian when we wasn't looking. I left the strategy tent, Argentum and Aurum trailing me protectively. I looked at the setting sun wondering why things had to be this way. Besides Dakotah, Bobby and Gwen, I was the only one who knew about the Eidolon that had possessed the Latino boy. Leo, Annabeth had called him. I hadn't bothered trying to convince Octavian, because it would've been completely pointless. The siege would've been led anyway, because this was Octavian were talking about here. Anything that made him look like Mr. Savior was fine with him.

But he wasn't saving anything. He was just destroying our biggest chance at cooperation. The Greeks had no idea about the Eidolon. And if we just attacked them, they were bound to get pissed.

We were set to attack in two days.

Two days.

That's exactly how much time I had to fix this insane situation and stop a massive massacre. And the only evidence I had was something I couldn't prove. It's not like I could just whip up an Eidolon and explain. Things were a lot more complicated. In fact, complicated seemed to be a recurring theme in my life lately. First, things started getting fuzzy with Jason, then he disappears. Then Percy showed up, with no memory other than a name: Annabeth. And of course, he had to be a son of Neptune, which is never good for Romans. Then he sets off on some impossible quest to Alaska, comes back, gets voted praetor, and then the Argo II sails in and our camp gets attacked by Leo. Which of course, puts any alliance we had in jeopardy and Octavian decides it would be smart to hunt them down while they're attempting to save the world.

Yeah, I know. Complicated.

I sighed as I pushed aside the tent flaps to my temporary office and bunk. I tossed my cape over my chair and collapsed into bed, exhausted.

You're probably thinking that I got a great sleep, right? Full of revitalizing energy and everything?

Fat chance.

In my dream I was back at Camp Jupiter, in my mother's temple. The patch of soil representing enemy land was in front of me, a spear impaled in its center.

"Daughter."

I whipped around to see a woman in jeans, combat boots and a military jacket staring at me. Her hair was long and pitch black, and her eyes were fiery red, her features all angles, sharp and prominent. She took a step towards me, looking me up and down. I knew immediately who she was.

Bellona.

"Milady," I said, bowing politely.

"The formality is appreciated, Reyna, but honestly, we don't have enough time. War is about to be waged. A fatal move, attacking the Greek camp," she told me harshly.

"I know. I've been trying to delay the ambush," I explained, but she held up her hand for silence. She might've been my mom, but she certainly didn't show it.

"The daughter of Athena has retrieved the Athena Parthenos," she informed me. "Hopefully this will help you unite, but I have no idea how this will affect Minerva and her Athena form. However, the girl and her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, have fallen into Tartarus. They plan to meet the other five and the son of Hades on the other side of the Doors to close them."

My heart sank. The retrieval of the Athena Parthenos was good news, but Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus? That was bad. Really bad. Hopefully their plan worked out, whatever it was.

"But meanwhile, you have to stop this attack, Reyna. You have the power to do this. I may be the goddess of war, but I know peace just as well. You're my daughter, and I know you will not fail me."

And with that, my dream ended.

I sat bolt upright, my heart pounding. I had only ever been visited by Bellona once in a dream, when Hylla and I had made it to Camp Jupiter. But then it had been to congratulate us. Now it was more like a warning.

I groaned with frustration and sat up. My hair was a mess from sleeping, and I quickly French braided it and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a purple t shirt before slinging on my praetor's cloak. The only thing my dream had really brought me was more pressure. Pressure to do everything right, pressure to be perfect little Reyna and be the best praetor New Rome had ever had.

Maybe that was why I had trouble connecting with people. It was like no one rode on the same wavelength as me. I put her role as a leader in front of everything else—even myself. If I wanted something to happen, it had better happen, or all hell was gonna break loose. I took a deep breath. _Reyna,_ I told myself fiercely._ You are going to go out there and show Octavian who's boss. And you're going to stop the ambush, just like Bellona said._

I finished my little pep talk and stepped outside, where Octavian was drilling some soldiers in tortoise formation, which was pointless, seeing as to the fact that we would be using the wedge, with Octavian and I in the lead.

If I didn't stop it from happening.

Dakota tapped me on the shoulder, motioning for me to follow him. I nodded and he led me to back behind the strategy tent.

"What?" I asked, a little impatiently.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Dakota whispered angrily.

"Alright, alright," I said, sighing. "What?"

"So Octavian's ambush is taking place tomorrow evening," he began, "and we really need to stop it."

"Dakota, please tell me that you're going to tell me something I don't already know," I pressed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm getting there," he assured me. "All we have to do is make Octavian look really bad. Percy did it before he got elected praetor, and it worked perfectly. If we make him look bad, everyone will start doubting his abilities to lead the Legion, and turn to you to take over the operation," he finished.

"Dakota, it sounds great, but we only have two days to make this happen, not even. This is all psychological manipulation. Not my thing," I told him.

"It's not psychological manipulation. It's called politics. And last time I checked, you were pretty good at it," he reminded me. I sighed and rolled my eyes, knowing he was right.

"Okay, okay. So what do we do?"

**Good? I couldn't resist choosing to do a chapter from Reyna's PoV. It hasn't really been done since she's not one of the seven, but this way I can also give glimpses of what's going on back at Camp Half Blood with the Romans attacking and whatnot. I have some really good ideas for the next two chapters or so. Will there be a bloody massacre at camp? What does Gaea have in store for the seven? Please R&R, constructive criticism is always appreciated! And just so you know, I'll try to update at least once a week, but I can't promise more often then that, because it depends on how busy I am during the weekends... Anyways, thanks for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or any of the characters, except for my surprise… sort of…**

Five: Nico PoV

We were sailing smoothly to Epirus. Almost too smoothly, if you asked me, but I'm not exactly Mr. Positive. I tend to expect the worst. That way, when life threw something back in your face, it wasn't really unexpected.

I was sitting by the prow, looking out over ocean, thousands of feet below, as we sailed above it. Leo was manning the ship while toying with one of Archimedes Spheres, while Piper, Jason, Frank and Hazel were sparring, supervised by Coach Hedge.

I rubbed my temples. I'd spent the last twenty four hours mulling over my dream and trying to recall everything I could about the House of Hades and the Doors. I'd done plenty of research before I'd gotten sucked into Tartarus, but being stuck in a bottomless pit that pretty much existed to push its inhabitants off the deep end and the spending seven days in a jar kind of put things off. My memory of certain things was fuzzy. Not gone, but twisted and weird, and I remembered things that I'd never remembered before; details I'd never paid any attention to.

"Hey, there's land up ahead, and I wanna give the Argo II a break, just do a little check-up. We've been flying for two days straight," Leo called. We began to descend, and I leaned over the side as we grew closer to the bay and the white beach below.

Once the Argo II was safely docked and Leo was running an inspection, we disembarked, trying to shake the feeling of sea-legs that I'd had for the past two days. . I was relieved to feel solid land underneath my feet.

"Oh my gods…" Hazel breathed as she looked ahead.

I looked up. The land was barren, no green life for at least two miles in every direction in front of us. The sand beneath our feet was tinged gray. Something had been here, a long time ago. Something long gone.

"Looking for something?" an unfamiliar female voice questioned.

I whipped around and found myself face to face with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She definitely could've given Aphrodite a run for her drachmas, but I wasn't going to be stupid enough to say that out loud. I would've been incinerated on the spot. I stared at her and forgot my own name, where I was, and what I was doing. My brain was sluggish. I felt hazy.

"Guys, snap out of it," Piper snapped, and I started to remember who I was. I was Nico di Angelo. I was on a quest to save the world from destruction. I felt my cheeks get hot with embarrassment. I looked away, deliberately looking anywhere but at her. I spotted Jason and Frank doing the same thing. I guess I wasn't the only one.

Piper stepped forward, like she was shielding us from the woman.

"Nice knife, daughter of Aphrodite," the woman commented, twirling her lush golden hair between her fingers, letting it spring back to its perfect curls with ease.

Piper's hand crept towards the handle of Katropis.

"I know who you are," she told the woman, like a warning.

"I'm sure you do. After all, I caused the greatest war in ancient history. I am the most beautiful mortal woman that ever lived. You even carry my dagger, Piper McLean," the woman replied, smiling in a knowing way.

"Wait a second…" Hazel interrupted, holding up a hand. "Are you who I think you are?" Her face seemed to be a bit awestruck but concerned at the same time.

"And who is that?" the woman asked, raising a perfect eyebrow in Hazel's direction. Hazel opened her mouth to say something but Piper got there first.

"Helen of Troy," Piper said. She didn't sound too pleased.

Suddenly everything made sense. The emptiness of the land. The location. The most beautiful woman in the world. Piper's knife.

"Holy Hades, this is Troy?" Hazel asked, dumbfounded.

"Was, dearie. Troy is long gone, believe me. I watched it burn. I stood on this very beach and watched it go up in flames," Helen answered casually. Yeah, because witnessing the Trojan War was no big deal. Clearly her priorities were a little off.

"You caused the biggest war in history. Thousands of people died because of you!" Piper said in disbelief.

"Actually, that's where you have it wrong, Piper McLean. Your mother, Aphrodite, caused the war, because she offered me up like some sort of bargaining chip. She didn't care about how I felt, being taken away from my home. All she wanted was to be named the fairest," Helen said, rolling her eyes.

"Um… Lady Helen, what do you want, exactly?" Jason asked. He seemed kind of dazed.

"What do I want? Please, Jason Grace. Like you men would really care. The only reason Paris wanted me was because I was beautiful. Men these days." She sighed in a wistful sort of way. Almost as if she was saying: _been there, done that._

"Well, if you think about it, that doesn't really qualify as 'these days'. All that happened a thousand years ago," Jason said, getting defensive.

"What do you want?" Piper asked, echoing Jason.

"I want justice. I want what happened to me to never happen again. Is that something you can give me, daughter of Aphrodite?" Helen snapped as she plucked the petals off a flower she had taken out of her hair.

Piper obviously didn't have an answer, because all Helen got was silence.

"My point exactly," Helen mused.

"Look, Lady Helen, just because Paris was a jerk doesn't mean you have to go all feminist on us," I interjected. She shot me a glare with her amazing sky blue eyes. Somehow, even when they were staring daggers at me, they still managed to look seriously beautiful, making my knees turn to pudding.

"Hey guys, the ship is all good!" Leo called as he climbed down the ladder. He started walking towards us but then stopped dead in his tracks and got a dreamy look on his face. Clearly he'd spotted Helen.

"Earth to Leo!" Hazel called sharply, and he blinked and shook his head.

"Damn! Who is this, exactly?" he asked.

"Leo, it's Helen. Helen of Troy," Frank pointed out.

"Oh. Her. Well that explains the drop dead gorgeousness at least," he said, shrugging coolly.

"Well, I think we'll just be going now," Hazel suggested mildly as we started to backtrack to the ship. Usually about now Helen would've started throwing a little drama queen hissy fit, because when you try to leave, enemies tended to not like that too much.

Not that I was really sure as to whether or not she was our enemy.

"Fine, fine, just leave me. Like everybody else did," Helen called, annoyed. "Just bear that in mind, daughter of Aphrodite. Beauty and pretty words cannot get you everything you want."

And with her ominous message still ringing in our ears, Leo launched the Argo II into the sky and Helen of Troy was soon nothing but a pinprick of gold on the horizon as we sailed onwards towards Greece.

That night I had another bad dream, no surprise there.

I was in a huge cavern, with dark stalactites growing from the ceiling, shrouded in dark mist. The air was clammy and smelled old. Like the cave hadn't been used for a very long time.

Green light flickered across the walls from various braziers lit in multiple niches in the cave walls. I came face to face with a pair of iron wrought open gates. Beyond them was nothing. Complete darkness, and a sense of emptiness, and a faint, familiar smell.

As insignificant as they looked, I knew that these gates were a very big deal.

The Doors of Death.

Footsteps approached from behind me, and a huge giant with scaly reptilian legs and claw-like feet. It must've stood at least fifteen to twenty feet tall, give or take a few. I had a bad feeling that even Kronos would've gotten nightmares from this bad boy.

A deep chuckling shook the room, making my bones rattle.

_The final chapter approaches, Son of Hades. Death is inevitable. You cannot save your friends this time._

I pretty much jumped out of my bed when I woke up because I was so freaked out. Gaea's voice was becoming scarily frequent in my nightmares, teasing me about dying and failure. It was seriously getting on my nerves. You couldn't just flip the mother goddess off to make her shut up. Life was way too complicated for that.

I pulled on my leather jacket and headed up to the deck, where the others were eating breakfast. Piper was anxiously trying to see things in her dagger while eating scrambled eggs, Jason was helping himself to some bacon and hashbrowns beside her.

"This stupid knife…" Piper cursed. "It won't show me a damn thing!"

"Well, it's been helpful before. Maybe it just shows you something when something big is about to happen," Jason suggested.

"Yeah, well I wish it had an on and off switch or something. It's driving me insane," Piper muttered, clearly frustrated.

"Chillax, Beauty Queen," Leo said, shaking his head as he stuffed his face with sausage and ketchup. "When it feels like it wants to show you something, it will. It's a magic object. It can't necessarily be controlled."

"We thank you for your wisdom, Repair Boy," I told him sarcastically. "But honestly, it is way to early for that. Now someone please tell me that there's coffee somewhere."

"Right over there at the end of the table, Death Breath," Leo directed cheerfully. I poured myself a huge mug of caffeine and sipped it contentedly. Now I was more awake.

"Okay, so what's the big plan?" Frank asked. I had refrained from telling them everything about the Doors, since everyone was depressed about Percy and Annabeth, just because it was a rough subject.

I opened my mouth to start explaining when a roar echoed in my ears, and a shadow loomed across the table. I looked up.

Now I've fought lots of monsters before, more than my fair share. But this thing was massive. It was at least fifteen feet in diameter, covered in shiny iridescent green scales that looked about as hard as platinum. It spiraled out of the water menacingly, spraying sea foam and serpent drool everywhere. It was obviously a very pissed off snake.

"The plan? Kill that thing," I said, drawing my Stygian iron sword and charging it.

**You like? I really wanted to include another character from the Greek myths that's been brought back from the dead, since they'd been meeting so many in the HoO books. And Helen seemed like a good choice, since it might bring some resentment to Piper's character because of how un-Aphrodite she is and everything. I don't really want to use her as a PoV but I just might, because I think it would be nice to capture her feelings about that little incident, and include some peeks into what she's seeing in Katropis, plus, I need another PoV. I was thinking about Hazel, but I'm not quite sure at this point. Anyways, thanks so much for reading, reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, especially constructive criticism, since practice makes perfect. I'll probably update this weekend… Thanks!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	6. Chapter 6

Six: Annabeth PoV

I was still shaky from my hallucination, but insisted on moving. The sooner we could find the Doors, the better off we'd be.

The problem was, we had no clue where we were going.

It's not like there were road maps of Tartarus popping up, saying 'YOU ARE HERE' and clearly displaying the Doors. There was no distinguishing left and right in this hellhole. Everything looked the same. Gray dust, a skeletal tree here and there.

I was starting to get worried about hydration. If there was no water in Tartarus, would we suffer from dehydration or would it just not affect us, since we were in the Underworld and technically, dead people don't eat. And neither do monsters. Unless you count demigods as snacks, that is.

Percy came to a stop. Before us was a shallow dip in the landscape, with smoothed out stones as black as obsidian, and water burbled over it. I leaned over but Percy held me back.

"Don't drink that stuff," he told me. "It's not normal water."

"How do you know? It looks fine," I insisted. I couldn't even remember what it felt like to drink. It wasn't that I was thirsty, because honestly, I didn't know if I was.

"No, it's not. Trust me, when I went with Jason and Piper to see what Katropis had showed her, we came in contact with it. It's water, but it's contaminated. I can't control it. We were trapped in an underground cave, and it we were drowning in it. And I don't drown. It was horrible," he explained quietly.

I swallowed. I tried to imagine what it must have been like, drowning in the one thing that you'd always been invincible to, that you'd always been able to control. I couldn't.

I leaned into Percy's chest. "It's okay, Seaweed Brain. I promise not to drink it or even touch it," I told him earnestly. He didn't respond, but only stared at the water with a deep look in his eyes. Hatred, but fear at the same time. Gods, whatever happened in that cave must have been seriously disorienting.

"Come on, let's keep moving," I tugged his arm gently before getting a running start and leaping over the creek with ease. He followed, landing beside me, not casting one look back as we continued walking in whatever direction we were heading.

And just when I thought everything was okay he collapsed, shivering, clutching his throat. His eyes were wide and terrified in a silent scream.

"Percy!" I yelled, dropping to my knees beside him, desperately trying to shake him from whatever delusion he was under. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly like he was in pain and I shook him harder, pounding on his chest in vain as he lay back and stopped moving.

"Percy! It's me, Annabeth! It's not real, it's not…" I trailed off and I sobbed a little. I wondered what he'd felt when I had gone off the deep end, thinking Arachne was after me.

_You think this is pain, Daughter of Athena?_ Gaea's voice whispered delightedly in my ear. She giggled, which is a really creepy sound coming from the ancient earth goddess, mind you. _The worst is yet to come. He is still alive. The two of you won't die until the right moment, I promise you._

And just as her voice faded from my ears, Percy's body shuddered and his eyes shot open once more, breathing heavily. He swallowed and sat up. I looked at him pointedly and held my arms open. He accepted the hug, kissing below my ear affectionately before drawing back.

I put a finger to his chest and gave him a glare. "Don't you ever scare me like that again Seaweed Brain. I thought you were gone. I really did." My voice grew small as I finished speaking, and I let out a hiccup leftover from crying.

"Don't worry, Wise Girl," he said, kissing me briefly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," I added in a small voice. He stood up and held out a hand. I took and he tugged me back to my feet.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, I guess. There's not really a lot to say, to be honest. I just… I thought I was drowning. Ever since I led the quest to Alaska with Hazel and Frank and we almost died in the muskeg, I've been terrified of drowning," he admitted. "And I know it sounds stupid, I mean, I can breathe under water. But then we met those nine nymphs and it almost happened again in that cave. If Piper hadn't had that horn of plenty, we would've been screwed. And I'm just afraid that I'll get so scared that I won't be able to swim anymore. Just like Thalia."

I nodded. Thalia was so terrified of heights that she barely liked to leave the ground.

"Well it's over now," I assured him, giving him a strong smile. "Tartarus isn't getting rid of us that easily. Gaea's saving us for something big. She—she wants to sacrifice us. She's keeping us alive just so we die at the right moment. It'll help wake her. Something about two strong demigods, their blood spilled on the 'ancient stones', will have this big effect on her. And I guess since we fell into this hellhole, it's more convenient for her. I just wish I knew what the ancient stones were. I know I've heard of it somewhere, I just can't remember where!"

Percy laughed a little. "You hate not knowing, don't you?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow teasingly.

"Don't push it, Seaweed Brain," I warned him. He laughed.

And just for that moment, I could've sworn we were back at camp, sitting on the docks. Happy. Living a fairytale ending that we were long overdue for, in my opinion. And that's when I knew that it didn't matter what way Tartarus twisted our thoughts and bent our minds—or what doomsday tricks Gaea had up her sleeve. We would make it. We always did.

**Good? Well, if you like it, then please review. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to include them, and if you have any good PJO fanfics I should read, please tell me, since I'm pretty much obsessed at this point ****J. Anyway, please review, I appreciate constructive criticism, so don't hold back. Thanks so much for reading, and I'm thinking about posting a separate one-shot soon, with Leo and Reyna as a pairing. I just LOVE the idea of them together, because they're polar opposites but meant to be! Anyways, sorry for the rambling. Thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thank you so much, all of you that have sent me the best reviews and constructive criticism that any writer could have asked for! You're just as important to this story as I am! (****Bonniex, ShimmeringDaisyFace, alj97, candyland7, Dragonggrl7, Gigabite Panda) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: unfortunately for me, I don't own PJO or any of the characters. They all belong to Rick Riordan, the amazing author we all know and love. **

Seven: Reyna PoV

I crouched behind the strategy tent, jittery with anticipation. Dakota was beside me, grinning. His idea really was brilliant. Octavian would be so embarrassed, it would be hard not to laugh. Dakota had messed with his battle strategy maps, exchanging with ones of Camp Jupiter, New Rome, and Mt. Tam. Places completely irrelevant to the ambush. When he would present his final plan this afternoon, Bobby was going to play know-it-all, and I would play innocent. Therefore, making Octavian look foolish and us like we knew what we were doing. Which I did. I'd been praetor for way longer than Octavian. Technically, I should've been leading the ambush, but it's not exactly something I'm supporting.

After that, we had a few more tricks in store. Since we had such a limited amount of time, we had to act fast. Simple things that would make the centurions of the Cohorts uncertain of his abilities to lead the ambush. And I would step in at last minute when they spoke up to say something, (and I knew they would since Dakota was one of them) I would step in. I wasn't going to completely cancel the ambush, but make it more of a peaceful, diplomatic meeting between the two Camps. That way, I could explain everything on peaceful terms and hopefully unite them. Hopefully.

"Everything's going to go perfectly," Dakota assured me. "In thirty minutes he's scheduled to give his little pep speech, which will turn out to be hilarious."

I swallowed. "Yeah," I said confidently. "It'll be perfect."

_Bellona will be proud,_ I reminded myself, and I took a deep breath, calming my nerves for the umpteenth time.

"Okay, I'll see you then. Make sure everything's in place for the other phases," he told me before sneaking off, probably to get some more Kool-Aid.

I stood up and rounded the corner covertly. The soldiers were done drilling form earlier, and everyone was sitting around, talking strategy and discussing the events that had led up to the ambush. I passed a group of soldiers from the Third Cohort, who were clearly gossiping.

"I heard that he was possessed," one of them whispered.

"Yeah, yeah. But that could be a rumor. And the Greeks practically destroyed the Field of Mars," another insisted.

"What about Percy? He was praetor. He got the eagle back, killed Polybotes and saved Camp," another intervened.

I stopped and listened.

"That's just one Greek. There's got to be tons of others that don't like us," the negative one supplied.

"Well I think Octavian's crazy," the other said, rolling her eyes. "Terra is supposed to be waking, and Juno wants the two camps to unite. That's what Reyna, Jason, Percy, and his Greek girlfriend said. I think we should follow them. It's four against one. Octavian's just going to make things worse."

I smirked and kept walking. So doubt and uncertainty about Octavian was already out there. That was definitely an advantage, especially because Octavian thought he was Mr. Savior. I snorted and entered my tent, where Aurum and Argentum were snoozing. At my entrance they perked up, their tongues lolling, and rubbed my side affectionately. I scratched the spot between their ears absentmindedly.

I heard the war horn blow, signaling the meeting. I smiled to myself.

Phase One of Getting Rid of Octavian was on its way.

The meeting wasn't really as formal as it might sound. Everyone was gathered in the center of our makeshift camp, seated in crowded little groups according to Cohort. I walked to the front and took my seat beside Octavian, confidently gazing out over the Twelfth Legion. The key to being a good praetor and winning support was to always look like you knew what you were doing. Octavian was about to find out how important that was.

"Can I have your attention?" Octavian called as he prepared to unroll his faulty maps. All eyes turned their attention to him, including mine.

"Throughout the last week, I have been working with the best strategists in the Twelfth Legion to concoct a foolproof plan to ambush the graecus camp," he informed them. I resisted the urge not to laugh. Just because you used big words didn't mean you were smart. Concoct? _Really?_ What century were we living in, exactly?

"This is a map of their camp," he continued, unrolling the first of the faulty maps. It was a map of Camp Jupiter. He kept gesturing to it while he explained how we would march to the top of the hill to the pine tree in a wedge formation with him at the front and storm the camp, while everyone in the crowd snickering. I held down my laughter as best as I could. I needed to look like I was completely innocent.

"Uh, Octavian? That's not a map of the Greek camp," Bobby called out, sounding confused.

"What—oh! So sorry, they must be out of order or something," Octavian realized, his face getting red from embarrassment. He flipped to the next map and opened his mouth to continue when he saw that it wasn't the right map either; instead showing New Rome. He swallowed.

"Uh, just one second, they should be here…" he called, nervous sweat perspiring on his brow. The crowd started to whisper. I bit my lip to keep from giggling. Reyna the praetor does _not_ giggle.

He shuffled through his papers in vain, trying to find his beloved maps. They were burnt to ash, somewhere in the forest, Dakota had told me.

"I'm sorry, I must've left them back at my tent. We will gather again after dinner. Meeting dismissed!" He told the rest of the Legion before hurrying off, muttering to himself.

I stood up. "I'm very sorry. Octavian seems to be very stressed lately, with the ambush getting closer," I explained, lying through my teeth before walking back to my tent. I was supposed to remain there for a half an hour or so before meeting Dakota and Bobby at the rendezvous point to clarify Phase Two. Aurum and Argentum trailed me dutifully as I sat at the desk, studying my only copy of the Greek camp. It was big, more simple than Camp Jupiter, with no New Athens or anything. Camp Half-Blood, Percy had called it. I studied it carefully. I needed to act informed for tonight's rescheduled meeting. Bobby had made Octavian look stupid, but we didn't think the meeting would just be postponed. We were counting on it being cancelled. Well, too bad, since he was about to get pranked. He was due to 'sacrifice' a few more teddy bears tonight, and the inside of his augur toga had been lightly sprayed with centaur blood, something Percy had mention at one point when he was talking about two children of the Greek god Hermes. Apparently they had pranked a girl from the Hunters of Artemis, which was a group of immortal girls that ran around the country killing monsters with the Greek goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. It was supposed to be like acid. Octavian would be stuck in the infirmary tent for at least a week with a bad case of angry red boils. I grinned at the thought of his stuck up little face all blotchy.

I crossed my fingers, redid my French braid and closed my eyes. Tonight could determine whether or not we won the war against Gaea. This was a make it or break it moment. I took a deep breath in and out, calming my mind. I was going to go out there and indirectly kick some augur ass.

_Mom, _I prayed, not even stopping to wonder if she was listening or not, _I hope you're watching. I will make you proud._

**You like? I kind of wanted to leave a cliff hanger, to build suspense. It kills me when authors do that J I've got a really nice chapter planned for when the two camps finally meet, but you'll have to wait because the other characters await! Please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, and again, thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or any of the characters, all rights go to Rick Riordan.**

Eight: Nico PoV

Let's just say that fighting a gigantic sea serpent that made a boa constrictor look like a tinker toy was not very high up on the list of things I wanted to do.

We were desperately trying to kill it, but with scales as hard as platinum, it was a little bit on the difficult side. Leo was down in the control room, trying to prevent the ship from being knocked out of the air, Frank was circling overhead as an eagle, diving in constantly, attempting to take out its eyes, but it was _fast._ Piper managed to sink her dagger up to its hilt in a chink in the serpent's armor, and it roared angrily, spattering us with snake drool. Nasty.

"What the hell is this thing?" Hazel yelled, ducking its maw to avoid becoming breakfast.

"Screw that, the more important question is, how do we kill it?" Jason added as he sliced off a spiky dorsal fin.

"It's the Trojan Cetus!" Piper answered as she yanked Katropis back out, wrinkling her nose at the monster slime covering it. "Hercules killed it!"

"That's great and everything, but the last time I checked, we're not Hercules!" I shouted, stabbing the monster in its rotten gums. Gods, that thing needed to make a dentist appointment. Can you say, hello cavities?

A whirl of light and a strong wind whipped past me: Arion. Hazel mounted him with ease and lodged her spatha in its gills. Unfortunately, the snake must've been ticklish there or something, because it screeched and shook its head wildly, dragging Hazel off Arion and into the air.

"Holy Hades!" She yelled, her voice sounding far away as she was whipped around, hanging on for her life.

"Hang on!" Piper called. "Jason, pray to your dad. In the Titan War, Clarisse killed a drakon with her electric spear. Aim for the eyes. Frank, I would get out of the way!"

Frank shifted back and landed on the deck beside me as I swiped at the serpent in vain. It swooped low, Hazel flying past, and I grabbed Frank and hit the deck. I wasn't that interested in decapitation, thank you very much.

"Thanks," he told me, before firing a volley of arrows into the monster's mouth. It shrieked.

"Hey, Dad? You know, a little lighting bolt would be nice just about now…" Jason said absentmindedly.

Nothing. Great. We're out here, busting our asses to save the world, and the gods can't even lift their fingers to help. I sighed in frustration, raising my sword again to strike.

Without warning, the monster shook uncontrollably like it was having a seizure and exploded into dust, leaving Hazel and four gigantic fangs on the deck.

We stared at her in shock as she stood, brushed her jeans off and tucked her black curls behind her ear. "What?" she said, her voice a little shaky.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She grinned. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that she was only thirteen, only a year younger than me. Well, technically I was seventy eight, if you counted all those years spent in the Lotus Casino. But I didn't really think of myself as an old man. And she was around that age, she wasn't exactly sure, from what she'd said before.

"What's with the teeth?" Piper asked, reaching down to pick one up.

"Don't!" I told her fiercely. She gave me a look, but withdrew her hand. "They're probably not safe to touch. Leo might be able to research them later, but for now we should probably keep them in a safe place."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Frank agreed. He ripped a piece of his tee shirt and carefully picked them up, wrapping it around the fangs completely.

Jason said nothing, but walked over silently to lean against the railing. We all kind of just stood there for a moment, in an awkward silence. A silence that was broken by Coach Hedge stumbling out of his room, making karate noises and kicking the air.

"What was that about, cupcakes? Any monsters need to be booted back to Tartarus, Hedge-style?" he asked before karate chopping the air with a _hiyah!_ I rolled my eyes. Coach was one satyr that watched way too many martial arts reruns.

"No, but thanks Coach," Piper told him, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go clean up. Hazel, want to come with me?" Hazel nodded.

"I'm going to go take these to Leo. He could use something other than the Archimedes Spheres to think about, even though he probably doesn't need it," Frank told me before disappearing below deck. Coach was busy munching on the plastic silverware from breakfast. I walked over to Jason.

"Mad at your dad?" I asked. I fingered my skull ring. Resentment for my father was pretty easy, and the feeling was definitely something I understood. Gods didn't really have time for their children a lot, and there were ancient laws that prevented them from interfering too much. It was tempting to go up to Olympus and bust some godly heads sometimes, but one: sometimes we don't take into consideration _their _feelings and two: that would probably get me incinerated.

Jason sighed. "It's just that, sometimes, I feel like that if they really cared, would they go around having affairs all the time? I mean, your kid has to spend their whole life learning to hunt and kill monsters, to avoid being hunted and killed themselves. I mean, is it worth it?"

"Believe me, I get it," I told him. "My dad is the kind of guy who's happy one minute, and ripped the next. After Bianca died, he was so angry at me. He put us in the Lotus Casino so that _she_ could be the child of the last Great Prophecy. So that she could save the world and he could get bragging rights about it." I laughed half heartedly. "Little did he know, she would die saving Percy Jackson, his nephew, which he hated, and still kind of hates, even now. He didn't even take it into consideration that she didn't want all the weird stuff in her life, all the responsibility. She joined the Hunters to get away from it, even if it meant leaving me behind. Family is complicated, immortal or not. You just have to learn to accept it and keep moving."

"You sound so old for a fourteen year old kid," Jason remarked, staring out at the horizon. I laughed, for real this time.

"Yeah, well technically, I'm a lot older than that," I told him. He grinned a little.

"Anyways, we have a world to save. Come on," I said. He nodded, straightening up. He followed me as I headed below deck to the control room, where Leo was talking insanely fast to Frank, who seemed to have trouble following him.

"Did you find out about the fangs?" Jason asked. Leo stopped talking.

"Yeah. Piper was right, it was a Trojan Cetus, and the fangs have venomous properties. They could be used as weapons, since the poison could kill other monsters, but I'm just going to put them away for now," he informed us. "And, thank the gods, the ship is fine, so we won't have to land again."

"Good. What day is it, again?" I asked, suddenly remembering a crucial piece of information. We were still only about halfway between Rome and Epirus, and my memory was still fuzzy. I had no clue where the House of Hades was exactly, or what was guarding it.

"Oh, it's July nineteenth. Why?" Leo answered while he carefully wrapped the fangs in something that looked a lot like cellophane.

Oh gods. "We only have until the Kalends of August, or August first, to close the Doors."

**Nice? Well, I had to add some sort of looming deadline, to make it more real, since it had been mentioned in MoA, and because PJO books always have deadlines. So I thought it would add some urgency to the plot line by bringing it up, and I wanted to play with Jason's emotions a bit about him being the son of Jupiter and how that might make him feel. And for all you Jasper fans out there, don't worry, I will be adding some sweet moments in, but right now the focus is on the action, and Percabeth. I did post a separate one-shot from Hazel's PoV (****All that Glitters is Not Gold)**** a few days ago to play around with her perspective, and if you'd like to, read it and tell me whether or not I should consider using her point of view in this story since I'm still unsure. Thanks so much for reading, it really means a lot to me! Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreaciated! Thanks again!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my God! 12 followers and 7 favorites! You guys are the best, and make me feel like my writing is actually a worthwhile investment! Thank you guys so much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't really have another creative way to say that I don't own PJO and that it belongs to Rick Riordan.**

Nine: Annabeth PoV

It had been a long time since I'd had a nice dream. And I was hoping that maybe since we were in Tartarus, dreams couldn't get to me.

Nope. For your information, they just get a hell of a lot worse.

I was back in Manhattan, in the subway. The same exact place where, however long ago it had been, my mother had visited me as Minerva and given me the worst present ever. The Mark of Athena.

But this time, I was alone. The subway was deserted, and I looked around, worry creeping up my throat. A blinding white light filled my eyes and a beautiful woman appeared before me, one that I recognized.

Hera.

The uptight, regal Bitch Queen of Heaven.

I swallowed, trying not to get angry. She was responsible for me losing Percy for eight whole months and the little presents I still sometimes got when I was back in San Francisco—little piles of manure just for me. Even though when I pissed her off, it had been before the Titan War.

She shot me a look. I rolled my eyes.

"You can be mad at me all you want, but we have limited time. Contacting you in Tartarus is very hard, it's not a place gods can easily go. Even Death himself cannot go there. As long as you are in Tartarus, you cannot die, Annabeth. It can twist your mind around its finger and drive you insane, but it cannot kill you."

I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off.

"And I have a gift to help you." She placed something in my palm. It was a small sliver of wood.

"A toothpick? No offense, Hera, but I don't really think this is something I can use as a weapon," I said, raising my eyebrows. Was she trying to make me mad?

"It's the only remaining piece of the original Argo's prow, which was a navigational instrument, a gift from Athena for Jason's ship. It's from the sacred forest of Dodona, and will lead you to wherever you need to go."

And with that, she was gone, and my dream went black before shifting. I was on a mountain, the rocks beneath my feet cracked and old, with moss growing up between the cracks. It was foggy and warm, and I climbed up the worn path. I had a feeling that thousands had walked this path before me. Wherever I was, it was very old.

A building loomed into view, and my heart jumped into my throat. It was ancient and crumbling, with white columns and a perfect shape—the Golden Rectangle—with worn stone steps and the remains of a detailed carved picture on the triangle crown. It was a building I had long since memorized.

The Parthenon.

I took a step forward, yearning to touch those worn stone steps, walk through the ancient temple dedicated to my mother.

But a voice stopped me.

_ Don't worry, Daughter of Athena,_ Gaea assured me. I could almost feel her smiling creepily at me. I shivered despite the humid air. _You will be lying dead on these steps soon enough, beside your beloved Son of Poseidon. Your blood shall awake me, give me the final strength to awaken. Soon enough, soon enough…_ She laughed malevolently and I jerked awake, sweat peppering my forehead. My heart was beating a million miles an hour and I cursed. Why hadn't I realized it before? The connection was obvious. The 'ancient stones' was the Parthenon. We would get out of hell only to die. By escaping Tartarus, we would walk right into Gaea's scheme. The final battle would be held at the original Mt. Olympus, or the Acropolis of Athens. And since there weren't 'ancient stones' on Mt. Olympus anymore, it was looking like we had no choice but to show up to our death party. And the gift from Hera? I patted the pocket of my jeans. Yep. Still there, safe and sound.

Percy stirred beside me. He'd had his arms around me while I slept, but I guess waking up had disturbed our position. I blushed as I remembered the night we accidentally fell asleep in the stables on the Argo II. Even though the memory made my cheeks burn, I would give anything to be back there again. No Tartarus, no broken ankle. Just on the run from Romans and trying to save the world. No biggie.

His eyes opened and he blinked the sleep away, mumbling something before pulling me close again, burying his face in my hair.

"Sleep," he mumbled. I rolled my eyes. When Percy went all innocent and oblivious it made my heart melt. I consented to lay there a few minutes longer. It was completely silent, save for the sound of our breathing. Which gave some more time to think about Hera's gift.

If she wasn't joking, which she probably wasn't seeing as she doesn't have a sense of humor, then this really was from the original Argo. Which meant that it would lead me wherever I needed to go.

A.K.A. the Doors of Death.

This little toothpick would lead us there.

"Percy, come on, we have to get moving. I know where we're going now," I said, sitting up and shaking him awake. He yawned and opened his eyes again.

"How? We've been down here for who knows how long, and it's all the same. For all we know we've been walking in circles," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but now we have _this_," I said, showing him the sliver of wood. He raised his eyebrows, confused.

"A toothpick?"

I rolled my eyes. "That's what I thought too, at first. But Hera visited me last night in a dream. This is a piece of the wood from the Argo," I explained.

"Leo's ship or the other one?" He asked.

"The original Jason's ship," I clarified. "The prow was from a tree in Dodona, which is sacred. It was a navigational instrument that helped Jason find his way through the Sea of Monsters. It's designed to lead you where you want to go."

His eyes widened, beginning to comprehend what I was saying. "So if it leads you anywhere you want to go—" he began.

"It will lead us to the Doors," I finished, smiling. I hugged him. Suddenly, all the stress of being in Tartarus and finishing my solo quest just came rushing out all at once.

"We're going to get out, Seaweed Brain! Everything is going to be okay!" I whispered fiercely. He hugged me back before drawing back and kissing me, my hands running through is silky raven hair while his arms drew me closer. His touch sent bolts of electricity through my body, my brain going into overdrive.

I drew back. "Escape hell now, kiss later. We have a world to save," I reminded him breathlessly, trying to clear my head. My heart was beating a million miles an hour, slamming against my chest. See what he does to me?

"I guess," he agreed, pouting a little. I smiled. "That was for good luck. It's kind of a tradition, huh?" He flashed me a knowing smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah," I said, standing up beside him. He kissed me one more time, briefly, before drawing Riptide and taking my hand. We shared a knowing glance.

Even though we were in the deepest pit of the Underworld, I had never felt more alive.

**Good? Satisfactory Percabeth there right? Anyways, if you liked it, please review. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I want to give a special thanks to ****Bonniex****, for reminding me that death can't go to Tartarus. It helped me overcome my little bout of writer's block for this story. Thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my God! 16 reviews, 14 follows, and 11 favorites! You guys are so amazing, and I love you for it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or the characters and I never, ever will.**

Ten: Reyna PoV

I think I can just skip the details of how Octavian mysteriously fell ill the night before the ambush and the duties of leading the attack were therefore placed on me. It happened, and Mission Getting Rid of Octavian was a success.

Now I just had to break the news that the ambush would be changed into a diplomatic mission, to discuss the situation with the Greeks. Octavian would oppose it, but hey, he's bedridden and covered in red welts for a week or so, so he can't really object now can he?

I took a glance at myself in the mirror in my tent. I was by no means a Venus girl. I had dark hair and eyes and a sprinkling of freckles. I was a praetor, not a princess. I took a deep breath and exited my tent, Aurum and Argentum tailing me as usual.

I walked calmly past the soldiers that were busy warming up, prepping for the ambush that evening.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make regarding the plans for this evening," I called, and everyone stopped talking. I cleared my throat again.

"I have decided that instead of attacking, we will first send in a diplomatic party and a few soldiers under a flag of truce. I will lead this group that I have personally selected, into the Greek camp to discuss matters. If there is significant evidence that they indeed meant to attack New Rome, we will attack. Otherwise, we will remain inactive," I informed them. Whispers swept through out the camp, and I waited for them to get over the initial shock. "The people coming with me will be: Dakota, Bobby, Louisa and Xander. I encourage you to still practice, in case there is a need for a full scale invasion of the Greek camp, but otherwise, do what you please."

I made my way back to my tent. I wasn't in the mood to deal with questions, and I didn't want Octavian to send someone after me. I just had to keep everything in order until this evening. Then we would walk into the Greek camp calmly and everything would be fine. It was going to be perfect.

The day passed by, the sun slowly creeping over the sky. When it was four o'clock I started getting ready. I braided my hair again, washed my face and carefully dressed in my purple toga and praetor cloak over my jean shorts and purple tee shirt. I closed my eyes.

_Reyna, this is going to go perfectly,_ I told myself. _You'll be able to clear the whole Eidolon thing up, and the camps with unite and Queen Dirt Face will take some permanent sleeping pills and everything will be fine again. _

I opened my eyes as I finished my little pep talk, strapped my Imperial Gold sword to my belt and stepping out of the tent. My dogs followed at my heels and I met my selected group of soldiers in the center of camp.

We were all set to go, Dakota readily carrying the white flag, when Octavian poked his blotchy face out of the infirmary. I refrained from sighing as he opened his mouth to begin his lecture.

"This can't be a diplomatic mission!" He protested, his face going purple. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. He was definitely something, with his face covered in red welts and wearing a purple and gold infirmary johnny, trying to look dignified.

"Actually, Octavian, it can. It has to be. This is what Juno wants, this is what Bellona wants. Right now, there's a bigger threat, and we can't afford a civil war," I snapped. "And if I have to pull the 'I've been praetor much longer' card, believe me, I will. And last time I checked, augur, you were bedridden and getting some rest to recover from your allergic reaction," I added. All of the sudden I just felt this feeling bubble up inside me. I had walked the praetor road alone before, and I'd do it again if it meant getting rid of Octavian. Maybe I was just meant to be alone. Maybe I was born to do this.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have business to attend," I told him coldly, before nodding at the others as we set off down the road.

It was a reasonably short walk, and we did it in silence. As we reached the bottom of the hill I looked up at the tall evergreen, the Golden Fleece glittering on its branch, the huge dragon, Peleus, Percy had informed me, wrapped around its trunk. We climbed up the hill steadily, and looked down into the valley. I glanced at Peleus, a little worried as to whether or not he would attack and eat us as lunch. But then again, we were demigods. He didn't seem to notice as we crossed the borders and made our way down into the valley that was the Greek camp. A pair of boys from the volleyball court spotted us and narrowed their eyes suspiciously. One of them hurried over, while the other ran to the big blue farmhouse.

"Are you Romans?" the boy asked, suspiciously. He had close cropped brown hair and blue eyes that had a mischievous look to them, like he was calculating the best way to prank you.

"Yeah," I answered. "My name is Reyna, daughter of Bellona. I'm praetor of the Twelfth Legion of New Rome. We're here to see a camp leader. There's a lot to talk about."

"Okay, you might have to wait a few seconds. Chiron will be out in a minute, no worries. I'm Connor, son of Hermes," he informed me, holding our his hand for me to shake. I took it politely, before studying my surroundings. It was a lot like Percy and Annabeth had described. There was a big area dedicated to sprawling strawberry fields where kids were gardening. There twenty cabins, arrayed in a rectangle shape with a brazier and gardens at the center. There was an Ampitheater, an archery range and sword-fighting arena, a long stretch of beach and forest lining the far edge.

While I'd been busy examining the camp, Chiron had arrived. He was a centaur, with a trimmed beard and a white horse lower half.

"So you are Reyna. I have heard much about you from Lupa," he said, stroking his beard as if in deep thought. "I am Chiron, the activities director here at camp. Why don't you come inside the Big House?" I nodded in agreement. Chiron turned to Connor.

"Call a head counselor meeting," he ordered, and Connor walked away, probably to get other Greeks.

We followed Chiron up the steps of the farmhouse and inside. There was a big living room, with a leopard head above the fireplace and three couches around a coffee table. The leopard snarled as we walked by to another room.

There were multiple chairs pulled up to a ping pong table and we took seats. Connor and Travis appeared, and I figured they had to be twins. They were way to identical otherwise. There was a girl with dark hair and bangs that came in next that shot a glare at Travis, followed by a girl with tons of bracelets and rings and henna tattoos all over her hands. I lost count as they filed in and took seats; a boy with blond hair and an archer's bow, a boy with gray eyes like Annabeth's, a girl with a red bandana, a blondie with pigtails and braces that smelled of designer perfume. Soon the seats were filled and Chiron entered, causing the campers to fall silent.

"This meeting was called due to the appearance of a diplomatic party of Romans from Camp Jupiter," Chiron explained, and all eyes were turned on us. "But first, introduce yourselves to our guests."

"You already know us," Connor said, winking at me. I ignored it. The girl with the bangs stood up and smiled warmly at me.

"I'm Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter," she told me. Beside her, the girl with henna tattoos and jewelry introduced herself as Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate.

"Clarisse, daughter of Ares," the girl with the red bandana said roughly.

"I'm Lacy, daughter of Aphrodite," the girl with the pigtails announced before flashing me a silvery smile.

"Will Solace, son of Apollo," the blond boy with the quiver informed me.

"Malcolm, son of Athena," the boy with gray eyes told me. Like I hadn't guessed that already. They continued around the table, Butch, son of Iris, Clovis, son of Hypnos, Lucky, daughter of Tyche, Emma, daughter of Nemesis, among others.

"As some of you know, I'm Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion of New Rome and daughter of Bellona, Roman goddess of war," I began before introducing the others. Their attention didn't waver, and I swallowed down my nerves. "I'm here because the two camps, Greek and Roman, need to unite to beat Terra, or Gaea, as you call her. We would already be getting along fine if the truce we had hadn't been breached back at Camp Jupiter by the son of Hephaestus."

Whispers erupted, and I earned a few death stares.

"You mean Leo?" A guy who was on crutches asked. He was a son of Hephaestus named Jake Mason, so he probably wasn't too thrilled with me accusing Leo of causing all the problems.

"I guess. He was possessed by an Eidolon, a spirit used by Terra to possess demigods or humans, so his actions weren't his own, but my fellow praetor, Octavian, and other soldiers of the Legion aren't exactly convinced. So I need to prove to them that it was a mistake, Terra's way of forcing us apart," I continued.

"Well, what do you want us to do? We can't exactly catch a ghost. It's not like Nico's here, so he can't work voodoo magic and magically summon it," the girl with the red bandana, Clarisse, interjected.

"We just need to form a proper alliance. Tomorrow the Legion can come here, if you'd like. Or you can send a few back with us. Whatever you want. We just need to establish that you're with us, not against us," I explained.

"No offense, but how do we know that if we send people back with you, you won't take them captive?" Clarisse questioned. This girl was definitely careful, worthy of being a daughter of Mars.

"I can personally guarantee their safety. You have my honest word," I told her. She nodded, raising her eyebrows, but didn't say anything else.

"Why don't you bring the Legion here tomorrow. We can assess everything then, and if all goes as planned, can camp inside our borders to be safe from monsters," Chiron suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, cracking a brief smile. So far, so good. Maybe, against all odds, the alliance would work out after all.

**Good? I'm sorry if it's a bit long, but I really needed to capture the meeting and agreements, and I wanted to bring some other Greeks from PJO into the mix. I'm thinking about doing a separate Tratie story after I finish with ****Mr. Fix-It****, which is my Leyna story. Anyways, please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated! Thanks again for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or the characters, and never will because they belong to Rick Riordan, who is clearly not me, since I'm a girl. **

Eleven: Nico PoV

Everyone seemed to be fidgety since I'd decided to bring up the fact that, as of right now, we had around eight days to get to the Doors, when we were still only a little more that half way across the ocean between Rome and Greece. And then there was the whole part that I had to explain to them that I didn't exactly remember everything in perfect detail… and the details of the exact location of the House of Hades had been a little lost during my time in Tartarus and the jar.

Basically, I felt sick every time I thought about it. I was supposed to lead the remaining five to the Doors. I'd promised Percy. And even though I knew that promises couldn't always be kept, I knew I had to do this. For Percy and Annabeth. They were the two people that had actually cared about me, the Goth kid, even when I had hated them. My own dad couldn't even compare to them. And now they were in the deepest pit of hell, leaving me with a promise that I wasn't one hundred percent sure I could keep. And for the icing on the cake, there was a deadline. Lovely.

I paced the deck restlessly.

"Hey, relax, Death Breath. No need to be so uptight," Leo advised as he fooled around with his Archimedes Sphere for the thousandth time.

"Easy for you to say," I muttered, fingering my skull ring. It's tiny onyx eyes stared back at me blankly, as if posing a question. _Well?_ It seemed to say. _What do you want me to do?_

"How long until Epirus?" I asked, looking up.

"Maybe two days. That should be enough time right? Cause this masterpiece of mine only has one speed," Leo answered.

"I guess that's decent," I shrugged, rubbing my temples. A migraine was setting in, something that often happened when I was under stress. I was bone tired, even though it was barely ten o'clock in the morning. Living on pomegranate seeds didn't exactly prove for a healthy diet, and fighting a sea serpent yesterday hadn't exactly improved my state. I really didn't want to go to sleep for fear of the dreams that awaited me, but I had no choice. And maybe, in the midst of all the prophetic crap I'd get, I'd decipher a small piece of it. Just enough to get a more solid lead.

"I'm going to take a nap," I announced, walking past Leo and down below deck. Leo had given me the spare room at the end. It was smaller than the others, but I could've cared less. I flopped down onto the bunk and kicked off my shoes, rolling over, shedding my leather jacket.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I plunged into sleep.

It was the cave from before, the tall black gates looming in front of me through the gloom. They were open, just like last time, and the darkness beyond came with a familiar presence. The sickly smell, the endless darkness, with hallucinations. I shuddered inwardly. I could see the silver forms of spirits flitting here and there, ghostly apparations that only a child of the Underworld could see.

"Nico," a voice whispered, strangely familiar. A cold air blew past, making the hair on the back of my neck rise. I knew that voice.

"Bianca?" I called quietly into the darkness.

In a matter of a second, she formed in front of me. She looked just like she had in life as a Hunter, silvery cargo pants and parka, hair braided back, quiver slung over her shoulder. Except, now she was transparent. A painful reminder that she was gone forever.

"They are coming," she whispered, her voice calm, eyes wide. "Hera has given them a gift and guidance. But Gaea is growing stronger. The Doors are heavily guarded. You need to be prepared."

"Who guards them? Tell me," I begged.

"He who is the bane of Zeus," she answered quietly. "Their king. The dead don't speak his name here. He's too close."

"Bianca, if the Doors are open, can you…" I trailed off, knowing it was a stupid question. She wouldn't return to life, even if she had the choice. At least, I doubted it.

"I'm afraid to try," she admitted, glancing at the ground. "But you have to hurry. The more time you have, the better. Percy and Annabeth with arrive on the other side in a matter of days. Stay safe."

And with that, she dissipated into a silver mist and faded away.

I sat bolt upright, perspiration clinging to my forehead. I could still faintly smell the Underworld on my clothes. I brushed away the ghostly image of Bianca. I had to let her go. It didn't matter how much I wanted my big sister back. I had to deal with it.

The nap had been well worth it. 'Their king' Bianca had told me. Of course. It was Porphyrion, waiting to meet us there, before moving on to the roots, which was where the Athena Parthenos belonged. It was ancient Athens. There were no structures on the original Mt. Olympus, and the stealing of Athena's statue had broken Greece's spirit. We could return it, if only temporarily, and hopefully save the world all in one day.

I pulled on my jacket and shoved my feet into my shoes before rushing back to the deck. Leo had moved on to playing cards with Piper and Jason.

"Guys, I figured it out!" I exclaimed breathlessly, my heart still racing from my dream.

"Slow down, Nico, what did you figure out, exactly?" Piper said calmly as she claimed the hand, laying her poker cards down on the deck with the best poker face I'd ever seen. She looked up at me expectantly while Jason and Leo sat, baffled at the fact that they'd lost.

"Wait, I thought you'd played the ace!" Leo protested.

"Listen up, Repair Boy. The world is more important than the money you bet on a poker game," I snapped, a little miffed that he wasn't taking me seriously.

Leo gave me a look and mumbled something about drachmas before staring silently at me, waiting for me to explain.

"I figured out what's guarding the Doors of Death," I told them. "So it's good news that I know, but bad news because of who's guarding them."

"Yay, bad news time," Leo groaned sarcastically before my death stare silenced him.

"Porphyrion's at the Doors waiting for us. It's kind of Gaea's way of saying: don't you dare close the Doors," I finished. Leo looked surprised, Piper looked shocked, but Jason sighed, like he'd been expecting it all along.

"Well, I guess it's time for a rematch. All I really did was piss him off last time," he remarked, stretching before standing up. "I bet he'll be thrilled to see me."

"That's the spirit!" Leo joked. Piper rolled her eyes.

"Come on guys, let's have lunch. Frank, you can come down from the lookout now!" she called. An eagle swooped down from its perch above the sails and landed on the deck before morphing into Frank.

"Did someone say lunch?" Hazel asked appearing from below deck, tucking a sapphire into her pocket before planting a quick kiss on Frank's cheek. I tried not to look too agitated at this. It felt weird to see my little sister kissing her boyfriend in front of me, even if was only on the cheek.

"Yeah. Come on. Might as well enjoy ourselves as much as possible before we face our possible deaths," Leo said cheerfully. He disappeared below deck for a few seconds before returning with a pile of plates that were designed like the ones at Camp Half Blood, magically making food appear.

I sipped Diet Coke and ate a nice Italian sub while we chatted, mulling over my dream. What if Bianca did come back? I was still worried that Hazel would suddenly just disappear one day, sucked back to the Fields of Asphodel. If Bianca came back to life, would she return to the Underworld once the Doors were shut or stay here. I couldn't help but feel a little hope stir inside me, leftover from the time when I was only eleven, and wandering the Labyrinth, seeking a way to bring her back. I pushed it back down.

_Come on, Nico_ I told myself fiercely. _You know it won't happen. The dead are meant to stay that way. Bianca's not coming back. _I couldn't waste my life holding grudges for things that I couldn't control. I had to accept the facts, however horrible they seemed. I sighed dejectedlytaking another sip of Diet Coke and trying to imagine what life would be like after this war, if we even survived.

**Good? Anyways, next time it's from Nico's perspective, I have a little bit of a surprise for you. After suffering through a brief spell of writer's block that was super frustrating, a lightbulb went off, and believe me, it's going to work perfectly for the story line. I'm thinking it's going to have fifteen to twenty chapters in total, but don't hold me to it, because it might end up being longer. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated! Thanks again!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or any of the characters and never, ever will.**

**Sorry for the delay with the whole update, I had a teensy bit of writer's block and have been super busy (cough- reading Beautiful Creatures- cough) Anyways, I'm wicked sorry, once again, and hopefully you enjoy!**

Twelve: Annabeth PoV

Even when you have a magic toothpick to guide you through the deepest pits of hell, you don't feel any less lost. Believe me, I would be very knowledgeable on the subject.

For the last… however long it had been, we'd been walking in the same direction, the toothpick still faithfully pointing in the direction we were headed, unchanging. My feet were tired, and my head felt heavy. I felt like I could lay down and take a nice long nap. The problem was that this was Tartarus, and if you go to sleep, who knows if you'll wake up in reality again?

The hallucinations were relentless, plaguing us as we marched, our little two man army, to the Doors. Every once in awhile, Percy would suddenly collapse and start yelling things, his green eyes empty, or of course, I would be the one collapsing and screaming things like a madwoman. Take your pick.

I'd spent my whole life trying to picture Tartarus in my head, since it's usually a one way trip. _Usually,_ I reminded myself. We were going to get out. We had to. But all the dark fantasies had never conjured the endless dust and grit that swirled, the skeletal trees that looked like they belonged in a Tim Burton film. The eerie silence that suggested that maybe, you weren't alone. That you were being watched. Just thinking about it was enough to raise the hairs on the back on my neck.

Anyway, as we walked, hand in hand in silence, an idea popped into my head. If Hera could send me a dream, maybe it wasn't so impossible to send an Iris Message out. I mean, sure, service was probably not too great down here, but you never know if you don't try.

"Percy, do you have any drachmas?" I asked, feeling a little flicker of hope inside me. If I could just see sunshine, or know how the other five were doing.

He searched his pockets, his brow furrowed in his cute worried face. "I don't know… wait, I have one left!" he said, holding it out for me to see. It was covered in dust and grime, but sure enough, a gold coin the size of a girl scout cookie with a picture of Zeus stamped on it. I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see a drachma before.

"We only have one left though… what if we need it for something? Like, a passage?" Percy told me, biting his lip. Okay, this was getting weird. Seaweed Brain was speaking reason to me? Usually the positions were reversed, and he was the impulsive one with crazy ideas.

"Seaweed Brain, there's not going to be a troll bridge or anything," I replied, rolling my eyes. "We've seen nothing while we've been down here. Nothing. I'm not too worried."

"If you say so," he said, handing it to me.

"Who should we contact? Not Chiron, since the five can contact camp anytime," I added.

"Let's just check up on Nico and the others, see how close they are to Epirus. Time doesn't really make a difference here, but we don't know how close we are to the Doors," he remarked. "But we have a problem. There's no mist to make a rainbow," he pointed out.

I sighed. "You're right. Well, that was a stupid idea then." I tucked the drachma back into my pocket, defeated. For a moment, I'd really thought we could see the others, talk to them. For all they knew, we were almost dead. But I guess Nico had to have some idea. He could sense souls and 'life auras' as he called them. He knew when someone he knew died. He could feel it. I shuddered. Even though Nico was a nice guy, he was still a son of Hades, which was a little creepy. So far, the only contact we'd had was a dream sent from Hera, which in my opinion, wasn't exactly my first choice. But then again, now we had the wood from the original Argo, so that was definitely a development.

"Hey, do you see that?" Percy said, peering into the distance. I glanced forwards. There was a smoky horizon, like a sort of hazy silver fog. And I'd been in this hellhole for long enough to know that there wasn't normally fog down here. Weather didn't exist when there was no sky.

"Yeah," I said, squeezing his hand. This could be it. That could be the Doors, somewhere in the distance.

"I guess we'd better get moving then, huh?" Percy suggested, kissing me quickly before tugging me along.

The haze slowly seemed to be getting closer, a little but at a time. Finally, when we were about ten feet away, I realized what the fog was. It was ghosts, silver and transparent, crowding around something I couldn't see through the bobbing heads of who knows how many spirits.

"It's the Doors. I can feel it. That's why all the ghosts are here, even if it's in Tartarus. They must be pretty eager to get back to life," I commented, pushing through them. There were men in ancient gladiator armor, women in hoopskirts, modern day people checking their ghostly iPhones and holding briefcases like they were just waiting to catch a subway to work. They were all talking, their words buzzing in my ears. They didn't say anything as we walked straight through them, intent on reaching the Doors.

"Wait," Percy said, making me stop in my tracks. "Should we go through? It's a double seal, someone has to close it from this side, and we don't even know if Nico's already on the other side. We don't know how long it's been."

"Well, there has to be somewhere we can find out, Seaweed Brain. And we can figure out the rest later," I insisted, pulling him along. I didn't want to think about that fact that someone would have to stay behind in Tartarus to close the Doors. It was too depressing for the moment. I was trying to stay positive, and crucial points like that tended to put a damper on the moment.

We hurried through the ghostly mob, until we reached the front, where the apparations formed a line that led towards what looked like some sort of toll booth. It looked so strange, since we hadn't really seen anything but trees and dust for the past who knows how long. But as out of place as it looked, I knew that it probably wasn't good. Over the years, I've developed pretty good guy instincts for knowing when something spelled trouble. And all I could feel was a sick bubbling feeling in my stomach.

I ignored the spirits yelling at me as I cut the line, stepping in front. I gazed through the glass, trying to determine who was running this operation, when he turned around, and a familiar face registered.

"Charon?" I said blankly.

"Oh hello, godlings. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" he got a thoughtful look on his face. He was wearing his usual black suit, most likely Italian, and a gray silk tie.

"But you work for Hades!" Percy exclaimed in disbelief, anger forming in his eyes. I put a hand on his arm. Until I was sure that Charon was going to be an issue, I didn't really want Percy trying to kill him. I didn't know if there was something we needed or not, and if Charon had to be the one to give it to us.

"Ah, yes, Hades. I resigned, you see, when I got a better offer from the Mistress. She pays far more, and now I can afford to indulge more in my favored brands," he said, motioning to his expensive attire. "And after she crushes the Olympians in the war, I'll be free to rule over the Underworld, and wear as many Giorgio Armani suits as I want!"

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, because a designer suit was totally a reason to change sides. I drilled my fingers on the metal counter, deciding I should just play nice until I knew more. "So Gaea pays more huh? How much do you think she'll pay us to be sacrificed?" I asked sweetly. Charon frowned and ignored my question.

"It's a drachma per person for passage," he informed us, looking expectantly between Percy and I. My heart sank. We only had one drachma between us, and that meant only one of us could leave. I was wishing for my backpack back, I'd had a whole pocket full of them.

"Well, Mr. Charon, I think your employer just might make an exception to us," I said. "After all, we're pretty important players in her scheme to rule the world. We have to make it to the Parthenon so she can have us killed formally, on the ancient stones, so she can finally wake up. Otherwise, she'll have to settle for less. And you know how Gaea is."

Charon stroked his beard, looking suspicious. "Yes, she can be terribly angry when she doesn't get her way. I guess I can make an exception." I smiled and pushed our single drachma across the counter at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Charon," I said, giving him a forced smile before turning to leave. He laughed.

"Oh, don't be thanking me, daughter of Athena. You've practically just signed your lives away. There's no escaping your fate now. Have a nice trip!" He called, laughing.

We walked away from the ghostly toll both, farther into the mist. An escalator of shiny obsidian loomed out of nowhere, carrying it's ghostly passengers upwards. I couldn't see where it ended, but I knew that it was a straight ride to the Doors. I glanced at Percy.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"I'm ready," he replied.

"As long as we're together," I told him, recalling his words from when he'd decided to fall into Tartarus with me. In the dim light, he was still just as handsome.

Hand in hand, we stepped onto the escalator that would take us to our fate.

**Did you like it? It was kind of short, but I'm anxious to get to the other chapters, and it's been a few days since I last updated, which I'm really sorry about. I just couldn't figure out what to do with Annabeth's chapter, and I was really stuck on it. Well, that was it, and I have a really good plan for what will happen in the next few chapters, and I can promise it will be great. This fanfiction will probably fifteen or sixteen chapters in total, just so you know. After I finish this, I'm thinking about writing a Tratie story, but I'm not quite sure yet. I'm still writing Mr. Fix-It, my Leyna story, so we'll see how that goes. Anyways, sorry for the long author's note! Thanks so much for reading, and please review!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Honestly, how many times do I have to say it?**

**Oh my holy sugar mother! 5,048 views! That is amazing! Thanks so much to all of you that reviewed, your support means a lot and motivates me to keep writing, and hopefully get better each time!**

Thirteen: Reyna PoV

It had been three days since the meeting with the counselors of Camp Half Blood, and everything had been going smoothly. Not even Octavian had managed to ruin it yet. Key work, yet.

I could still tell that there was still some tension between the Legion and the Greeks. And it's not like I was confused as to why. It's pretty obvious that neither side is super trustworthy of the other. I mean, a demigod gets possessed, blows up the Field of Mars and the Legion travels across the country to supposedly have a peace meeting? I knew that the Greeks knew that something had to be up with that.

Not that they had anything to be afraid of now. We were in a state of truce, and I planned to keep it that way. Otherwise, it could spell disaster.

We were camped inside the camp borders now, so there wasn't any reason to have a night watch patrol anymore. Octavian, of course, opposed my order to dissolve it, but in the end it worked out. I guess I held the trump card, having been praetor for almost two years longer than him. Something that could definitely be taken into consideration when debating who held the real sway in the decision.

Obviously, the verdict was clear.

Me.

Thank the gods.

I was busy spending time with the head counselors of the Greek camp, trying to set a good example for the Legion. Some were following suit and getting along, mainly Dakota and Bobby, who had become practically inseparable from the Stoll twins (they shared a fascination with pranking Octavian). Others, like Octavian, remained inside their tents, bent against mingling, like they were going to catch some disease from the Greeks.

On the third morning, we got news from the seven.

It was morning, and I was in the breakfast line on the pavilion behind Katie Gardner, who was busy recommending cereal combinations.

"I'll try the Lucky Charms and the Frosted Flakes," I decided, spooning some into my bowl.

"Good choice. Personally, my favorite is the Captain Crunch and the Honey Bunches of Oats, but Lucky Charms is always good," she told me, nodding in approval. I thanked her before walking over to sit in my seat by Chiron. There wasn't a Greek version of Bellona, so its not like I could get away with sitting with the campers at one of their tables.

I was in the middle of taking my first bite when I heard a voice I knew I shouldn't be hearing.

Jason.

I looked up, a little worried that I was going crazy, hearing voices. But I was wrong. About the going crazy part, that is. Because glimmering across from me was an image of Jason, Nico, Hazel, Frank and the pretty girl that had been with Jason at New Rome, along with the Latino boy that had been possessed by the Eidolon and attacked Camp Jupiter.

I almost dropped my spoon from shock.

"Hey Chiron," Nico said, smiling. He looked pale and gaunt, like he'd had a rough week.

"Nico. A pleasant surprise. I see that they found you, then," Chiron said, smiling, concern creasing his brow.

"Yeah, Percy, Jason and Piper freed me. I'd kind of been trapped in a jar for a week before that… and before that, um, wandering around Tartarus." A few gasps were heard throughout the pavilion, and whispers erupted like wildfire. Gods. That couldn't have been a fun time.

"But that's not the point. We made it to Rome, and Annabeth figured out that she had the Mark of Athena, and went on a solo quest involving Arachne and the Athena Parthenos. The good news, we retrieved the Athena Parthenos. The bad news is that Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus."

Shocked silence filled the air, like a bubble expanding.

Chiron, of course, was the one who decided to pop the bubble.

"Well, that certainly does not bear well," he remarked, stroking his beard carefully, deep in thought.

"I know. It's not exactly what we planned. But I know where the Doors are, and I learned some stuff before I got sidetracked," Nico added. "The Doors have a double seal and have to be closed by someone on both sides. Percy made me promise to get to the side in this world, while he and Annabeth made it to the other. At least, that's the plan."

"So where are the Doors, exactly?" Malcolm, from the Athena Cabin called out. They were Annabeth's siblings, and even though the only sister I had was Queen of the Amazons, I knew that they were probably freaking out on the inside. I would be.

"There in Epirus, in Greece. They're guarded by Porphyrion, but I know that's not where the final battle will be. There's no ancient stones of significance for any of us to be sacrificed on to wake Gaea. Which leads us to our next topic," Nico informed us.

"Sacrifice? No offense, that doesn't sound too good," Connor Stoll added.

"Yeah. And it doesn't feel any better when you know you could be one of the people getting sacrificed," Jason remarked uneasily. "Along the way we've heard some stuff. Gaea needs to powerful demigods to be sacrificed on the 'ancient stones' whatever they are, to ensure her wake."

"And if we're right, she wants Percy and Annabeth," the girl with the kaleidoscope eyes, Piper, added.

"Anyways, we're on our way now and we thought you should know," Nico trailed off, glancing down at his feet for a second.

"Reyna, is that you?" Hazel squinted, her eyes widening. "Oh my gods! Is the whole Legion here?"

"Yeah, we're camped inside Camp Half Blood," I informed her. "We have a truce."

Hazel fist pumped the air in triumph, and the rest of them smiled, relieved to have something good to think about, apparently.

"Oh, and Reyna?" the Latino boy asked. He was wearing jeans and a dirty orange tee shirt, a tool belt slung around his waist. "I'm really sorry about what I did to the Field of Mars."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't actually you," I assured him. I left out the part about Octavian still not believing that he was innocent. Probably wouldn't do much for his self esteem.

"Sorry guys, but we gotta go," Frank told us, frowning slightly at the thought.

"It was really good to hear from you, even if this isn't good news. I wish you the best of luck, all of you," Chiron told them. They waved goodbye and Nico leaned forward and slashed the connection.

And that's when the day got depressing. You could tell, just by the look on everyone's face, that they were affected by the news of Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. Even Clarisse, the girl with the red bandana who supposedly hated Percy, looked glum.

"Just when I thought things were getting better," I murmured, looking out at Long Island Sound as the pavilion cleared up and people headed off for their morning activities.

Chiron clopped up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"I wouldn't worry too much, child. Percy and Annabeth are incredibly strong. They've been through a lot together. As bad as Tartarus is, I am confident that they will find a way. Meanwhile, our task is uniting the camps. We need to focus on the things we can change, Reyna. There is no use in worrying about something that can't be helped."

I exhaled, sighing a little. Not so long ago, my mom had told me the same thing when Jason had gone missing. But this time, I knew the stakes were a lot higher than the state of my love life.

**Did you like it? It was a little teensy bit plotless compared to my previous chapters, but I really wanted some contact between the Argo II and Camp Half-Blood, so I had to do it. Anyways, the next chapter has the idea I've been waiting to use ever since I recovered writer's block! I promise that you'll like it, and if you saw it coming, kudos to you because I didn't even know until a chapter ago! So anyways, please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, and thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I will never own PJO or the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan, who probably isn't willing to share, sadly. **

Fourteen: Nico PoV

The Iris Message definitely lifted a weight off my chest. Now, at least, camp knew about Percy and Annabeth. I'd held off telling them because I was afraid that telling camp would make it all the more real. Not that it mattered. This was my reality, whether I liked it or not.

It's hard to wake up when the nightmare is real.

I paced around the deck, Greece was far below us, green and brown and rocky. And I knew now why I couldn't seem to find anything under the House of Hades. That was the name given to it by demigods, and not to many demigods surf the web and update Wikipedia, if you catch my drift. But I knew where it was now. I could sense it, the connection to the Underworld was strong, and I had a good nose for sniffing out stuff that reeked of the dead.

I closed my eyes as we sailed over Greece, lower and lower. We'd narrowed it down to the political region of Greece actually called Epirus, and decided it would be a bad idea to just land the ship in the middle of a mortal city and take a trip to the banks of the Acheron River from there. Not exactly the covert entrance and exited we wanted.

"Stop!" I yelled to Leo. The Argo II ceased to sail and Leo looked at me like I was crazy.

"Dude, I don't know about you, but I don't exactly see anything," he pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Just because you don't see something doesn't mean its not there, Repair Boy," I retorted, getting irritated.

"I can feel it, too," Hazel cut it, her voice soft. She looked solemn, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail and her gold eyes calm. I hadn't said anything, but I was afraid of what would happen if she got too close to the Doors. Would she disappear and get sucked back down into the Underworld? I wasn't too eager to find out.

I drummed my fingers on the hilt of my sword, deciding not to answer.

"So how does that whole feeling thing work, exactly?" Piper asked curiously as the rest of the five gathered their things, strapping weapons to their belts and tucking baggies of ambrosia in their pockets. "Do you just know?"

"I guess so. It's not really a scientific thing. It's just like when you Aphrodite kids know when two people like each other. It's like a sixth sense," I explained.

"Sounds a lot more useful than sensing love, if you ask me," Piper muttered, glancing briefly in Katropis, her eyes widening at the last second and the knife clattered out of her hand and onto the deck. She swayed, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Wait a second!" Jason cried, rushing forward to catch her. Her body was limp and her eyes closed. Katropis's magic visions had horrible timing, if you ask me.

We all stood and watched, waiting for her to wake up again. Hopefully the message wouldn't be too cryptic. We didn't exactly have time to be wondering about omens and weird visions.

"I wonder why it does that," Frank remarked thoughtfully.

"Dunno. It's just some Beauty Queen magic thing," Leo replied cheerfully, shrugging as he tapped controls, instructing the ship to hover above the clouds until we returned.

"It probably has something to do with the Greek mythology behind it. I mean, it was Helen of Troy's ceremonial dagger, thousands of years ago," I suggested coolly. My nerves were on edge. I could feel the coldness, even from here, the distinct aura of death, and beneath it, the thick evil stink that wafted up from Tartarus. It was right below us.

The Necromanteion.

We threw the golden ladder down over the side of the ship, waiting for Piper to wake up so we could disembark.

Piper's body shuddered and she opened her eyes, the kaleidoscope of colors swirling. She sat up slowly, Jason's hand placed on her back. She smiled at her boyfriend briefly before the look dissolved.

"Something's going to happen. Someone's going to die. I—I can't even remember who it is," she said, rubbing her temples frantically. "And the Doors, they're huge. And Porphyrion was there, just like Nico said."

I nodded, my face grim. Even with the renewed energy I was feeling from being so close to the Underworld, I knew that Porphyrion would be more than a problem. It's not everyday that you face a twenty foot tall giant with talons for feet, green hair and a tendency towards violence. Not to mention that he's the son of Gaea and as powerful as Zeus.

With that happy thought in mind, we descended the ladder, one by one, each of us finally touching the ground for the first time in days. We were surrounded by coniferous forest, and I knew now that I needed to break the truth to them. They needed to understand what was going to need to be done once we got inside the temple and got near enough to the Doors.

"Guys, I need to tell you something, even though you probably already knew it. The Doors have a double seal, and they need to be closed from both sides," I told them. "Which means—"

"That someone has to close them from the other side, locking them into Tartarus," Jason finished, his head in his hands. We stood in silence, swallowing the news. Piper's vision made sense now. One of us was going to die.

I closed my eyes, trying to sense the souls of my mother and Bianca in the Fields of Asphodel. It calmed me. It was just like how some kids had a blanket or a nightlight when they went to sleep. I had the spirits of my family for when I went and faced probably death.

But something wasn't right. Their energy was too faint, almost as if one of them didn't exist. Panic rose up inside me. What could happen to cause a soul to be moved from the Fields of Asphodel?

"This happened, stupid."

I stood, completely still, entirely convinced that I had to be hallucinating. That was the one voice I'd never thought I'd hear again. And I could feel her aura—her _life_ aura, which was something I hadn't felt in years, and something that I hadn't expected to feel again, ever.

_This has to be a trick_, I thought to myself. It was impossible. It defied the laws of nature, just like Daedalus.

But I couldn't stop myself from turning around to face Bianca di Angelo.

She stood there, dressed in her Hunter silver cargo pants, parka and combat boots, her hair braided, quiver slung over her shoulder and bow in hand. Just like she had two years ago before setting out of the quest across the country that got her killed.

She held out her arms, smiling slightly.

I walked into them, hugging her. I was as tall as her now, and we were the same age. I didn't even think of asking questions. Her arms were warm and she held me close.

"It's so good to see you and be able to hug you," she murmured.

"Ummm, sorry to interrupt the reunion, but who is she, exactly?" Jason asked, cocking an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Well, whoever she is, she is definitely attractive," Leo remarked, wolf whistling appreciatively. I glared at him.

"Guys, this is Bianca," I introduced. "My sister."

"Wait, but Hazel's your sister," Frank pointed out, clearly confused.

"Yeah. But this is my sister I had before. We had—have—the same last name and the same mortal mom. She'd a Hades kid," I explained, not wanting to breach the subject of Bianca's death. I was afraid if I said it, it would be some sort of taboo and she would die right then and there all over again. Only this time, I'd be able to see it happen.

"Nice to meet you all," Bianca said, smiling. "And, by the way, I'm a Huntress, so no dating, even though I'm only here temporarily."

I looked away. Hazel was staring at Bianca like she knew that this was all wrong and that Bianca shouldn't be here.

"You're a Huntress, like Thalia? Then haven't we met before?" Piper asked. "Last winter, we ran into you guys while we were on a quest, near Chicago. It was were Jason and Thalia met again."

Bianca cleared her throat and pursed her lips. "Yeah, well, I haven't been a Huntress for awhile, you see. I died two years ago, on a quest to save Artemis."

It was probably much like an atomic bomb by emotional standards, considering that they had just met her, had never heard about her, and especially since she was here, looking very much alive and well.

"Um… How does that work, exactly?" Frank inquired, shifting uncomfortably.

"Easy. I came back from the dead through the Doors. I'm just here to help you guys, since I had the opportunity. I don't plan on staying, since I don't exactly come back from the dead often," Bianca explained lightly.

"Oh, okay then. Then, uh, I guess we can get going. We have a world to save and a pair of Doors to close," Piper announced brightly, the tone of her voice cheering us all up. We began our walk towards the Necromanteion, quietly making our way through the pine trees.

The Necromanteion was old, very old. It the crumbling remains of a stone building, and a tourist attraction that was buzzing with activity, much to my distaste. Most of it was underground, and I didn't want mortals getting in the way. More often than never, living in a somewhat hidden world caused a lot of complications.

I filled Bianca in on the quest and the prophecy as we walked. She made a worried face when I mentioned Percy and Annabeth, but she was confident that we'd see them soon. "They're going to make it, Nico," she assured me in her elder sisterly way. I would never admit it, but I felt comforted by her presence.

"Guys, why don't we just pretend to be tourists," Piper suggested. "There's no point in trying to sneak in when I can just convince the tour guide to ditch us and we can get inside for free."

"Good point, Beauty Queen," Leo agreed and without warning, he walked out into the open, smiling like he wasn't some random kid in oil stained jeans and a bright orange tee shirt. He glanced back with a _what?_ expression on his face and motioned for us to follow suit. I rolled my eyes and stepped out from behind the trees, following him towards the ruins.

"Watch and learn," Piper said, grinning sweetly before walking towards the entrance that was guarded by two Greek tour guides in uniform. She chattered pleasantly, probably suggesting they take an early lunch break while she and her friends toured the site. They nodded enthusiastically and walked off. Piper turned around, smiling.

"Viola, entrance for free," she said, stepping back to present the entrance to tunnels.

"Ladies first," Leo announced, stepping back in mock politeness. Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Please. Boys only say that when they're scared," she told him smartly before descending into the darkness below. I went second, followed by Hazel and the rest.

"Logically speaking, the Doors should be located in a place prohibited to tourists," Jason said. "So we shouldn't be looking anywhere too public or mainstream with signs."

"Come on," I said. "I can feel them."

I led them down a stretch of underground hallway dimly lit by torches placed there for display. I could sense the entrance to the Underworld getting closer. We took a few turns, and the signs disappeared and the torches became less frequent. A few, _Warning, Unexplored Section_ signs were posted as we walked past, but I ignored them. Mortals could be so ignorant sometimes. Ignoring something that was staring them straight in the face.

"This is it," I breathed as I rounded a final corner before coming face to face with a dead end tunnel. "You've got to be joking," I muttered, kicking the wall angrily. I could sense the entrance on the other side like it was a living, breathing thing. It was there. The only problem was that there was a huge rock in between.

"Lovely. Sometimes the simplest things cause the biggest obstructions," Bianca remarked, sighing.

"Yeah, no kidding, Ghost Girl," Leo replied, tapping the rock with his hammer. "This thing is huge, and would take a whole army to move."

"Not when you have me," Hazel said, walking past me and placing her hand on the boulder. She closed her eyes, her fist clenching and sweat beading on her forehead. Cracks spread from where she was touching the rock, outward until it met the tunnel, and it crumbled, collapsing into a pile of dust and pebbles.

"Hazel!" Frank yelled as she stumbled forward, barely avoiding face planting onto the ground. She blinked sleepily, like it was one in the morning instead of one in the afternoon. I pulled my little bag of ambrosia out of my pocket and opened it, breaking off a piece and dropping it into her mouth. She opened her eyes and yawned.

"Yummy," she said, smiling. "Tastes like a candy bar."

"Yeah, a candy bar that can cause you to spontaneously combust if you eat too much," Leo said sarcastically as we walked through the opening. It was a massive cavern, just like the one from my dream where I'd spoken to Bianca. It mounted far above our heads, the black stone dark and forbidding. I pressed a finger to my lips and gave the others pointed looks before walking forward. If it was possible, I wanted to sneak past the giant king standing guard to avoid getting killed.

But of course, the Fates just had it in for me, and a pebble skittered across my path, the sound resounding throughout the cavern, echoing off the walls. _Crap_, I thought, cursing silently in Ancient Greek. We paused. Nothing.

We kept moving, creeping slowly forwards. The cavern was long, like some sort of underground corridor, leading ultimately to the Doors, which would make it difficult to get by unnoticed. As if the odds weren't bad enough.

The tall iron gates loomed into my vision, still wide open, the darkness of Tartarus still existent just beyond them. I hoped Percy and Annabeth had good timing. I said a quick prayer to my Dad. If he had to pick one of my prayers to answer, I would definitely prefer this one.

We walked closer and closer, and I knew we were tempting fate. Porphyrion would appear any minute and pummel us simply by stepping on us with his size one hundred feet. Not exactly my ideal way to go down, but beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes.

I was formulating a plan in my head, trying to think of what Percy would do in this situation. He'd faced Atlas, Kronos, Hyperion, Polybotes and Alcyoneus, among others. I glanced over at Jason, who had the same hard, determined look he always wore before fighting. It had to be a Roman thing, I decided. I wondered if he was thinking along the same lines as I was. He'd defeated Krios, after all.

"He's coming," Bianca whispered. I didn't have time to speculate as to how she knew, though, because my brain was going a million miles per hour. Battle strategy wasn't my thing.

But then I guess that the Fates maybe did like me after all.

Because stepping out of the darkness, hand in hand and one of them slightly limping, were two of my favorite people in the world. And one of them just happened to be a daughter of Athena and a master battle strategist.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

Of course, my good luck didn't last long. It never does.

The steps of someone that had to be at least the size of an Olympian, if not bigger, could be heard from somewhere else inside the cavern. They were getting louder, and quicker. A laugh met my ears as the biggest monster I'd ever seen loomed into sight, smiling sadistically. He swung his massive sword to and fro like some sort of parade baton.

Porphyrion, bane of Zeus. He cackled, throwing his head, the weapons caught in his green hair clinking together, before turning to look at us, pity in his eyes.

"Ahh, so you've finally decided to join the party, heroes?"

**Good? It was a long chapter, so if you don't like the length, I apologize. I just had a lot to write, and I love Nico's perspective so much! Anyways, Bianca was my little surprise, she will play an important role in the next two chapters. I know, only two more chapters until the end, and one of them might be an epilogue! I feel so accomplished! Please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated! Thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	15. Chapter 15

**YAY! 18 favorites, 23 followers and 49 REVIEWS! Mamma mia, I feel SPECIAL! I could literally burst into song right now! Thanks so much to all those who reviewed, it means a lot to me that you even bother to look at my story! Hopefully you will enjoy this next chapter even if it is VERY long!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again?**

Fifteen: Annabeth PoV

I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see a giant that wanted to kill me before. But then again, it's not everyday that you ride an escalator out of hell, so I wasn't to surprised.

And the best part?

The fact that our friends were standing on the other side of him, ready to fight, Nico at the lead with his black sword drawn. He might be twelve, but he looked menacing.

And then there was the part when I recognized the girl beside him from the ghostly apparition Nico used to talk to all the time.

Bianca di Angelo.

She was alive, very much flesh and blood. She gave me a quick smile before drawing her silver bow and shot an arrow into the air. It pierced Porphyrion straight in the eye, and he roared.

"Foolish demigods! You cannot beat me without the help of gods, and they stand idle to the side, in spite of Hera's plan! There's not way you can stop the Earth Mother from waking now!" He tugged the arrow from his eye, which looked really nasty, and then wailed again. He swung his javelin and I dove out of the way, dragging Percy with me. He had Riptide, but I didn't have anything, which really sucked. My knife and backpack were somewhere at the bottom of Tartarus, which couldn't really help me right now.

_Mom, if you've ever really cared about me or been proud of me for designing Olympus and rescuing the Athena Parthenos, it'd be nice if you stopped by to help bash a certain giant's head in,_ I thought, sending a prayer to my mom. Hopefully, she was listening, because I could really use a goddess on my side.

I was standing towards the sign, unable to do anything without a weapon, while I watched Percy gore Porphyrion's scaly foot. Jason caught onto the javelin as it swung past and crawled up the shaft towards Porphyrion's face. Nico stabbed the ground, summoning hundreds of crawling skeleton warriors, which looked really creepy in the dim lighting. Hazel whistled and a tan blur blew by: Arion. She mounted her superhorse and Arion reared excitedly. Bianca was shooting arrow after arrow at Porphyrion, all of them hitting chinks in his gladiator armor, but none of them doing much damage. We needed to take the other eye out.

"Bianca!" I yelled, ducking to avoid the giant javelin that came at me. Jason swung by, hanging on for dear life.

"Nice to see you, Annabeth," He called and I couldn't help laughing a little. It was great to be back in the land of the living with my friends in a near death situation. Just like old times.

"Hit the other eye!" I yelled to Bianca, stumbling past Frank as he morphed into a massive dragon. It's always nice to have a shape-shifting demigod on your side. Bianca looked at me and nodded, drawing another arrow. She aimed for the eye, but Porphyrion's hand got in the way. Bianca cursed in Ancient Greek before drawing another one. She only had two arrows left. She shot the next one, which hit his nose, piercing it.

"I guess he just his nose pierced for free," she remarked, shrugging before drawing her last arrow. "For Artemis."

She released it and it flew straight, hitting him barely below his right eyebrow. It didn't even pierce his eye.

"Crap!" she exclaimed, tossing her quiver to the ground.

"It's fine. Hey, do you by any chance have an extra knife?" I asked hopefully. Hunters were, after all, the supernatural equivalent of Girl Scouts. Always prepared and all that.

Bianca wordlessly drew a hunting knife from her belt, handing it to me. "It's not extra, but I'm not on the quest."

"Thanks," I told her before sprinting of, adrenaline blocking the pain shooting up my ankle. It was on the mend, and running on it probably wasn't smart, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

"Frank!" I yelled, and the massive black dragon peered down at me from the cavern ceiling, where he was hovering over the giant, waiting for a chance to strike again.

"Want to give me a ride?" I asked. The dragon nodded its head and swooped down. I grabbed onto his tail as he flew by, not daring to look down as Frank flew higher and higher, towards Porphyrion's head. I jumped off, grabbing onto a lock of disgusting green dreadlock. This guy seriously needed to use some shampoo and conditioner. It smelled like he hadn't taken a shower in two millennia.

I remembered climbing rope courses at mortal schools and I gritted my teeth, carefully scaling Porphyrion's hair. He didn't even notice me as I clambered to the top of his head. He was busy trying to take out Percy and Jason, who had a habit of annoying monsters that were far bigger than them. Frank dove at his shoulder, sinking his dragon teeth into the flesh. Porphyrion roared loudly as Frank drew back, spitting ichor out of his mouth. The wound was deep and mangled, definitely gross to look at.

I watched as Piper climbed onto Arion behind Hazel and the whirled in a dizzying circle as the slashed at Porphyrion's legs, ichor running down in little trails. Leo was busy tinkering with a bronze sphere—if I wasn't mistaken, an Archimedes Sphere, but I seriously doubted that because they'd gone missing two thousand years ago. He shot a bronze torpedo out of it and it hit Porphyrion in the thigh, but I knew it wasn't enough. We needed gods to help us.

_Please, Zeus, Hera, Mom, anyone! Please help! We need you guys to beat the giants!_ I prayed, hoping I wasn't in vain. The Olympians had a bad habit of ignoring demigods in need sometimes.

A flash of silver brought me back to reality. A thirteen year-old girl with unmistakable yellow eyes appeared beside Bianca, her quiver full of silver arrows. She hugged Bianca quickly before drawing her bow and firing arrow after arrow.

Artemis.

I knew she was amazing aim, but I was still praying that she wouldn't accidentally hit me. I didn't want to die now, after everything Percy and I had been through in Tartarus.

The edges of my vision flickered, and my least favorite Olympian appeared. I knew right now that she looked like a stay at home mom with a simple baking apron and jeans and a sweater, but the look of her face told you not to mess with her family. Which, unfortunately for the giants, was what they'd done.

Hera, Queen of Heaven.

I don't think I'd ever been happy to see her before, but I was now.

Then, a guy in a purple battle toga and rugged blond hair appeared beside her, lighting bolt in hand. I knew it wasn't Zeus, since he was missing his trademark business suit, so I figured it was Jupiter coming to support Jason. I tried not to think about where my mom was.

Lightning bolts rained down on Porphyrion, and Hera gave him the lecture of his two millennia old lifetime, telling him to stay away if he knew what was good for him. I stabbed the giant in the nose before sliding down his arm and toppling towards the ground. What a great impression to the king of the Roman gods. Percy lunged forward and miraculously, caught me, bridal style.

"Careful, Wise Girl," he warned, smiling a little. I kissed his cheek before standing up.

"You too, Seaweed Brain. Try not to die. I'd be pretty sad if you did," I told him before we hit the deck to avoid Porphyrion's javelin once again. I tried to get up, by I was stuck in the ground from my knees down and sinking little by little.

Gaea.

I heard a deep chuckle, reverberating through the cavern maliciously. I shivered, the hairs on the back of my neck raising.

_You cannot escape me, daughter of Athena,_ her deep voice whispered into my mind._ I will have my sacrifices. I need you if I am to fully awaken, and I can't have you running off and spoiling that, now can I?_

I gritted my teeth. Mothers were supposed to be nice, but clearly, my great grandmother wasn't feeling the love. She must've missed the memo.

I was nearly waist deep in the solid ground, and I looked over at Percy. He was starting to sweat, his green eyes wide with terror. I'd never seen him that scared before. Ever. His fear of suffocation was clearly legitimate. I grasped his hand. "Listen, Percy," I began, unable to stop my tears. I didn't know if they were happy or sad of just plain pissed off, but I didn't really care. "I didn't go through five years of quests, embarrassing moments, explosions and wars to get killed by dirt. And I did not go through all that to watch _you_ get killed by dirt either. We are not going to die. I won't let you die without me."

He looked at me. The dirt was up to our ribcages, and a full out war was raging around us, but in that moment, I didn't really notice.

"You know, I would kiss you if I could reach you," he remarked, making me smile. We were still holding hands, but I couldn't stretch my arm any farther.

We sank lower, the rock up to our necks, our hands no longer touching.

"I love you, Percy," I whispered, biting my lip, trying desperately not to break out sobbing. At least I wouldn't have to live without him.

"I love you too, Annabeth," he told me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the moment when my head would go under and I would cease to breathe.

An explosion went off, and we were thrown backwards, no longer encased in rock. In front of us was a very angry woman dressed in a pink sparkly party dress and heels so high I wondered how in the world she wasn't falling over. Suddenly, the dank cavern didn't smell earthy anymore. It smelled like designer perfume, Givenchy, to be precise.

Aphrodite.

She looked down at the ground, her blue eyes glowing. "Listen, Grandma, just because you're older than me does not mean you can mess with my favorite couple!" She stomped on the rock like she was trying to bash Gaea's imaginary face in. She probably could, with the shoes she was wearing. "Love isn't something you can just obliterate!"

Percy raised his eyebrows, stunned by her little temper tantrum. I was surprised too. It's not everyday that you see the goddess of Love on the battlefield.

"Mom?" Piper asked as she stabbed Porphyrion near his knee cap. She was doused in ichor, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Piper, honey!" Aphrodite cried, giving her daughter a hug. "I must admit, you rock the whole strong beauty look!" Piper blushed.

"Um, yeah, thanks, but don't you think you're a little overdressed?" she commented warily, glancing at Aphrodite's party clothes.

"Please, darling, no need to fret. I don't need battle gear to fight. And besides, armor looks terribly unattractive on me," Aphrodite replied easily, walking towards Porphyrion. All around us, gods were flickering into existence, Greek and Roman aspects alike.

Percy stood up and held out his hand to help me up. I took it and brushed off my tattered jeans. I still clutched Bianca's knife like it was some sort of lifeline.

Porphyrion grinned, like we were some sort of joke and knelt down, almost crushing Leo underfoot. He touched the earth with his hands and murmured something and six other giants just as tall as him rose out of the ground, stretching their arms like they'd been asleep for a long time, along with several dozen Earthborn.

"At least there's not all twelve of them," Percy said, shrugging. We outnumber them."

"Yeah, but these are giants we're talking about Seaweed Brain," I scoffed, rumpling his hair. "It's never that simple."

"But we can do it, right?" Percy suggested, winking at me, making my heart skip a beat.

"Please. They'll never know what hit them," I answered sarcastically, squeezing his hand one last time before charging towards them.

We went straight for the second largest giant, who was content with swatting at Frank, knocking him from side to side like some sort of model airplane. That's definitely going to leave a mark.

I swiped at the giant's Achilles tendon, or where it would be if he even had one. I didn't exactly study monster anatomy on my free time, even if I was an Athena kid. He roared and turned to us. His eyes were full of flickering purple fire, his hair a matted nest of orange and brown.

"Aim for the heart!" Percy called. "I'll play decoy!"

The last thing I wanted was for my beloved boyfriend to play decoy and most likely get severely injured, but with the circumstances, I didn't really have a lot of options. I swung up on his gladiator armor, trying to imagine that this was just another day at camp and I was climbing the rock wall. I closed my eyes, drawing my knife back and preparing to stab the giant, right between two ribs. Hopefully, a god or goddess was watching, because otherwise, all it would do was piss the guy off and I would probably end up on the other side of the cavern, unconscious.

I thrust the blade into his flesh, forcing it upwards sharply. He howled and there was a flash of gray and I jumped off his chest as if it were a spring board to avoid getting crushed by a thousand pounds of giant.

I tucked and rolled along the ground. Percy helped me up again. He had a slash across his forehead, but I hoped it wasn't too serious. It didn't look deep, but it was a head wound.

Someone touched my shoulder and I turned around. My mom stood there, in a white blouse and jeans, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her gray armor glittering.

"You're definitely my favorite daughter," she said before embracing me tightly. I was a little shocked. When you're a demigod, you're godly parent doesn't really tend to be the lovey-dovey type.

"One down, five to go," Leo yelled as he and Hephaestus side by side burnt a giant to the ground. The odds were looking up, but I was tense, waiting for something bad to happen.

"That would be four, actually," Percy corrected.

"Come on, we've got a war to win," Athena said, smiling proudly as she headed off to stand beside Artemis.

"The Doors!" Hazel yelled from the other side of the battlefield where she Piper and Aphrodite were busy taking down a large group of Earthborn.

"I've got it!" Bianca yelled, sprinting towards the open iron gates. "I need someone to help me!"

"I'm coming!" I replied, breaking away from Percy and following her. Bianca tugged on the gate on one side, banging it shut. She stared on the other one, slowly dragging it closed.

I stared at her, realization dawning on me.

She was going to close herself inside Tartarus, right after she'd Resurrected herself. I ran faster.

"Stop! What are you doing?" I asked, grabbing the gate and propping it open. "You'll be gone! What about Nico?"

She looked me in the eye and shook her head. "This is why I came back. It doesn't make a difference if I die again. I was going to get sucked back in at some point, and this way, no one else has to die. Once I fall into Tartarus, I'll dissolve and return to the dead, since I was a ghost to begin with," she explained, jerking the gates away from me. "Nico will be fine. He has Hazel. Tell him… tell him not to think about me too much, okay? I—I'll be reborn after this. I waited for awhile when I heard the whispers about this Great Prophecy. I knew I could help solve this problem. None of you deserve to spend an eternity in Tartarus, whereas I can just die again."

I opened my mouth to say something, by the words were caught in my throat.

"Hey, you saved me and my brother from a manticore once," she said, giving me a pointed look. "Now it's my turn to repay the debt."

"Bianca!" I heard Nico shout as he paused from where was busy taking out a giant with Mars and Frank beside him.

And with that she pulled the gates shut on herself, balancing on the rocky ledge inside, her form already flickering as she slid the lock shut. I mimicked her motions, sliding the Stygian iron bolt across the gates and it melded back into place. She gave me once last smile and her form dissipated.

Bianca di Angelo was dead once more.

I turned around to where Percy was waiting, and he held out his arms and pulled me close. I stood still, my body completely numb. I refuse to cry. I won't cry. I won't.

"Come on," he said softly. "Pretty soon some monster's going to notice we're not fighting."

"Yeah," I murmured. "You're right."

The cavern shook with a scream as the second to last giant fell at the hands of Jason, Hera and Jupiter.

Now it was just Porphyrion once more. He glared at the mob of demigods and gods alike.

"This is not the end!" he cried, grinning. "I am still alive, and the sacrifices can still be made!

"Uh, dude, no offense, but your future's looking pretty bad right now," Leo commented, raising his eyebrows.

"No. There is still a chance. The Doors might be closed, but the ancient stones still stand, and the Earth Mother can still awaken. I might be the last, but I cannot be beaten that easily!"

"The Parthenon…" I said, remembering that Gaea could still sacrifice Percy and I on the steps of my mother's temple in Athens if she wanted to, ensuring her full awakening and the destruction of Western Civilization.

"Yes. The daughter of Athena knows what I'm talking about. Too bad she can't do anything to stop it," he replied, laughing deeply. The sound vibrated in my bones and I realized that Gaea was laughing alongside her son.

Too late for me to realize that I was ankle deep in the Earth once more, as well as the others.

"Now the Earth Mother can take her pick," Porphyrion said, laughing. "Of course, she'll probably go for the two most powerful, but you never know these days," he added, shrugging as if this were some sort of comedy act.

I needed to act fast. If I could somehow wedge myself out of the ground, I could easily reach Porphyrion foot, and hopefully, a god would catch on and blast him to Tartarus. Hopefully.

"Percy," I whispered urgently.

"What?" he replied, his face beginning to get pale at the thought of being sucked into the earth and being buried alive.

"I need water. To soften the ground," I told him.

"There's no water here, and I don't know if I can do that inside a cavern. If it explodes, we might get crushed," he explained.

I sighed. "Well, we're just going to have to take that chance, because otherwise, we have guaranteed deaths."

He looked and me for a moment and then nodded. "Because I trust you," he added before closing his eyes.

There was a second where it seemed like time froze and my life was suspended, and the air smelled faintly of the ocean.

The ground beneath my feet exploded with salt water and I lurched forward, driving my knife into Porphyrion's ankle joint. There was a blast and I blacked out, falling back agains the rough, wet stone floor.

**Teehee, there's some suspension for you! I know you probably hate me for it, but I have to admit it's fun. Anyways, if you don't like long chapters, I do apologize once again, but you can probably understand seeing as to the fact that it is a VERY important point in the story. There actually be two more chapters, a finale and an epilogue, but I don't think I will be writing a sequel because I have a very good idea for another story (shhh! I can't tell) and I'm already beginning a fanfiction by the name of: ****_The Game of Love_**** which is sure to be hilarious and dramatic! Anyways, please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, and thanks so much for reading!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


	16. Chapter 16

**A.N.: this will be the very final chapter of this fanfiction. I'm not sure whether or not I should be insanely happy or sad, but I know I feel accomplished and proud of my writing, thanks to all of you that reviewed and followed or favorited my story, or even just read it, it gave me a reason to keep writing, and motivated me to come up with new ideas and new twists and turns to introduce into the plot of this story to make it uniquely my own version of House of Hades. You have all helped contribute to this story every step of the way, and I thank you all so, so very much for it. I hope you love this last chapter just as much as I loved writing it!**

**Disclaimer: Okay, I'll say it for this story one last time: I don't own PJO and I never ever will, because it belongs to Rick Riordan.**

Sixteen: Nico PoV

Multiple things happened at once. Once minute, we were all standing there awaiting our doom as we were stuck, immobile, in the rock below us, and Annabeth and Percy were facing their deaths, prepared to become the sacrificial lambs o Gaea.

But the Fates must've been in a particularly dramatic mood when they spun the thread of our lives, because the next second, the floor around Annabeth and Percy exploded with seawater, and Annabeth launched herself towards Porphyrion, burying her knife up to its hilt in his ankle, just as Athena stabbed him in his heart (if he even had one, because honestly, this guy was so evil it was hard to believe) with her javelin. And with one last final roar of anger, he exploded into dust, blasting us all backwards, out of the ground and off of our feet. Which was quite an accomplishment for a dying giant, if you ask me.

I sputtered as I stood up, trying to spit the grit out of my mouth. Everyone else around me was doing the same thing, with the exception of the Olympians, seeing as to the fact they remained looking absolutely perfect in their immortality. I saw Annabeth kissing Percy as she cried happy tears, Piper and Jason embracing, Frank planting an innocent kiss on Hazel's cheek. Jupiter and Hera stood side by side, immersed in deep conversation while Aphrodite sobbed her heart out into a lacy pink hanker-chief. Her make-up must've been waterproof, because it wasn't running down her face even though her eyes were red and puffy.

"Well done son," a voice said, and I smiled a little. It wasn't everyday that you beat the giants, saved the world and got a compliment from your dad, who happened to be king of the dead. But there are exceptions.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, and Hades stretched out his arms and hugged me. I had to admit that it was kind of awkward, seeing as to the fact that he was a god and wasn't really the warm and fuzzy type, but it was fine by me. An awkward hug was enough.

"I'm very proud of you, Nico," he told me as he drew back and I let go. "There was a time when I thought Bianca would carry the last Great Prophecy, but in reality, you both played an even bigger role than I imagined."

I nodded.

"So, is anyone hungry?" Leo asked. "Because I could really use some tacos right now."

We laughed.

"I'll take a tofu one," Piper called out, smiling as she sheathed Katropis.

"Definitely," Jason agreed, and the three of them shared a knowing smile.

"I want to go home," Percy remarked, looking wistful. I realized that he hadn't been home for almost a year, between the quest and getting his memory wiped.

"Well, since you all have done so very well, I think we can afford to transport you back, can't we?" Jupiter asked, surveying the other gods' faces. They nodded in agreement.

"Well then, I think we can bet on seeing you at Camp Half-Blood, since the Legion is placed there now," Jupiter said. The world seemed to spin, and my stomach felt like it was dropping through my body before my feet slammed into the ground and I opened my eyes.

We were home.

It was midday, and the campers were just getting up from lunch. The Argo II had appeared, landing on the green surrounded by the cabins, the eight of us surrounding it. People started to yell, and soon enough we were mobbed by campers, Romans and Greeks alike, all of us together like some big happy, messy immortal family.

I hoped it would last.

"Come on, guys, group hug!" Annabeth called, and the eight of us squished together, laughing. We had done the impossible; saved the world from destruction, defeated the giants, and given Gaea more than enough sleeping pills to last her for an eternity, and by some miracle, I'd seen my sister along the way. Finally, we were at peace, and the Giant War was over, the Great Prophecy completed. I was secretly praying that Rachel wouldn't be spewing any more important green smoke for a long time, but you never know.

"To us!" Leo yelled, fist pumping the sky triumphantly.

"To us!" we echoed, followed by hundreds of other voices from camp and the Legion. I hoped it would stay like this forever, no fighting, no war, just extra long summers and somewhat unimportant quests here and there, but nothing to dramatic. To be honest, I think we could handle that for a while.

I definitely could.

**WAHH! Happy ending! I really hoped you enjoyed it, but so you know, I will not be writing a sequel, even though there will be a fifth book in the Heroes of Olympus, and I'm sorry if you thought I rushed it, but I loved ending it this way. It seemed fitting. And though I'm done with this story, I will be writing others. I'm about halfway through my Leyna fanfiction by the name of ****Mr. Fix-It****, and I'm working on a multi-pairing story called ****The Game of Love****. And I will be publishing another story following the Giant War, but it will not be a sequel, as I said before. Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you will continue to read my fanfictions!**

**-NotsoSugarQueen**


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